A Magical Bond
by C.Queen
Summary: The closest Scorpius Malfoy had ever gotten to Albus Potter was to admire the Gryffindor from afar.  Then an accident at Burgin and Burkes changes everything by linking the two in a way they could have never seen coming.
1. Bonds Are Created

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all the characters find themselves in. Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoy this latest fic and let me know what you think.

Bonds Are Created

Scorpius Malfoy could only hope that his father didn't catch him hiding from Albus Potter again. But what else was he to do, Scorpius thought as he peered over one of the overstocked shelves, cursing the fact that today of all days Albus would chose to tag along with his father on Auror business. If the Gryffindor saw him in the store than the other man might feel obligated to talk to him and Scorpius could count the number of conversations he'd had with Albus outside of school on one hand. He would prefer to keep it that way. It wasn't that he disliked Potter, that wouldn't be a problem at all. He was expected to dislike Potters.

No, the problem was that he'd had an uncontrollable crush on the Gryffindor, and had for years.

Which, given his genetic make up, really shouldn't have been possible, Scorpius thought sadly. But bad things seemed to happen to his family with alarming regularity these days. That they so often brought it on themselves made it that much worse.

Not that anyone could possibly blame him, Scorpius mused as he watched the Gryffindor walk through the aisles, studying the various odds and ends on the shelves. All that raven black hair, which stopped an inch above the Gryffindor's broad shoulders, and those emerald green eyes that were so stunning that they actually made the black glasses he wore sexy. The man's body was just as sexy and that, combined with the man's intelligence, charm and rakish grin, were just some of the many reasons why Albus Potter was the most sought after man in Hogwarts.

Yup, every straight woman and gay man in Hogwarts lusted after the charismatic Gryffindor. Which was one of the many reasons why Albus barely knew he existed. Scorpius was willing to bet that if he hadn't been born a Malfoy Potter wouldn't have ever known he existed at all. The Gryffindor had kept a wary eye on him for their first couple of years at Hogwarts and than had dismissed him as an unlikely threat.

It was terribly depressing to know that he'd probably have to do someone serious physical harm if he ever wanted the other man to pay him serious attention.

And since he wasn't the violent type Scorpius figured that he'd spend the rest of his life pining from afar.

Resigned to that Scorpius turned his head to study the merchandise in front of him, knowing better than to touch anything. One didn't put their hands on anything in Borgin and Burkes if they wanted to remain whole and hearty. He knew a lot of his housemates loved to come to the store and look over the many Dark objects scattered throughout the store, but personally, the whole place gave him the creeps.

Deciding that he might as well see if his father had finished haggling with Mr. Borgin Scorpius reassured himself that Albus was far enough away before moving into the main aisle, his destination the front of the store.

)

Scorpius hadn't gotten far when the store suddenly began to shake like it had been hit by an earthquake. Falling onto the floor with a crashing thud Scorpius curled and rolled, instinctively covering his head with his arms. All around him came the sound of smashing glass and snapping wood, Scorpius lifting his arms away from his head when he heard his father yell out his name.

Scrambling to his feet, his only thought to get to his father, Scorpius staggered in the direction of the front counter, blinding pain hitting him out of nowhere as a marble statue fell off a nearby shelf to smack him in the forehead. Falling to his knees with a groan Scorpius's hands moved to press up against the wound, the Slytherin forcing himself to stay conscious as he called out his location to his father as the walls continued to shake, shelves and merchandise scattering all over the floor.

Then all was still.

Struggling to get to his feet Scorpius fell back onto his knees as his head spun, his head pounding like someone was using it as a gong. He couldn't think of anything now but the pain.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Looking through the one eye not covered by his hands Scorpius was in too much pain to behave as he usually did when he came face to face with Albus Potter. Vaguely he noted that the other man was filthy and bleeding from a few shallow cuts, and was glad that that seemed to be the worst of it.

Letting Albus move his hands aside Scorpius winced as the Gryffindor carefully prodded the wound.

Both men hearing their fathers call their names, the two called out their well being, much to their fathers' relief and their sons.

"The cut doesn't look too deep, but you're going to have one hell of a headache to go with that bump." Albus gave him a sympathetic look, having taken some blows to his noggin during Quidditch.

"I figured as much."

Feeling awkward, which was nothing unusual when it came to the Slytherin, Albus tried for a joking tone as he removed his hand from the man's marred forehead. "Glad you're okay. Stumbling over your dead body would have really ruined my day."

Not being an idiot Scorpius knew that the Gryffindor didn't mean that his death would be upsetting, but still, he couldn't stop himself from flushing a little at the idea that the other man would care.

Getting to his feet Albus prodded some of his own wounds before holding out a hand to help the Slytherin to his feet.

Worried about what would happen if he tried to stand up again Scorpius was about to suggest that the other man go find their fathers when both of their attentions were drawn to a strange sound coming towards them.

The two turned their heads to watch a large, egg shaped object rolling towards them. It was pure white and seemed to be made of crystal, though it didn't appear to have suffered any damage from its fall from its shelf. Neither boy knew why, but they couldn't seem to look away as the magical object came closer and closer, spinning to a stop beside them as if on cue. It seemed to glow with some inner light, beckoning them closer. And though both knew better than to touch something from the store Scorpius and Albus, as if in a trance, reached out and touched the object with their bare hands.

)

With a gasp Scorpius and Albus found their hands suddenly stuck on the smooth, white surface, their fingers spreading out of their own accord so that their combined hands covered most of the egg's surface. A strange heat moved up their arms then, and though it wasn't painful it was enough to have them focusing on that and not the pain from their various injuries.

And as they watched the crystal through their fingers it began to fill with blood red swirls.

It was then that Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter arrived on the scene, taking in their sons' situation in the blink of an eye. Each hurrying to kneel beside their respective son the two men tried to pull their boy from the object, both demanding an explanation from a visibly shaken Mr. Borgin.

"I don't know." The greasy man was all but wringing his hands as he watched the scene play out before him. "I don't know, I swear. That egg's been in here since my father owned the place. I don't know if my father even knew what it did. It's never reacting to anyone touching it before! I don't know what's going on." And now he looked close to crying. "I'll go out of business for this. I'll be run out of the country if the Chosen One's son dies or is cursed because of me. Ruined, I'll be ruined."

"I'm not dead yet." Albus pointed out dryly, gripping his own arm tightly with his free hand as he tried to help his father yank his hand away from the egg.

"Nobody is going to die." Was Draco's harsh decree as he pulled out his wand, his eyes a steely grey. "It can't hurt them if I get rid of it."

Harry shook his head, motioning for Draco to halt his plan. He understood the feeling, but he wasn't about to risk hurting the boys by behaving rashly. "We don't know what that would do."

Scorpius tilted his head up to look up at his father, noting in some part of his brain that it didn't hurt to do so. The pain in his head had vanished without him even noticing it. "It doesn't hurt, Father." He assured the older man, unable to explain why he wasn't more worried about his present situation. Scorpius didn't know why, but he just had the feeling that the egg wouldn't hurt them.

Moments later the egg's grip on their hands suddenly ended, the magical object dropping somehow delicately onto the ground to rest there, as if it had been set down for decoration.

The egg gleamed crimson and ivory before them, its earlier inner glow gone.

Straightening up Draco reached down and sliding his hands under his son's arms, lifting his son to his feet in one smooth motion. When he was sure his son was steady enough on his feet Draco turned his son around so that he could get a look at the damage, particularly the bump his son had sustained.

A couple feet away Harry did the same to his son, his brows drawing together as he saw the same thing that Draco did. There were scratches on their sons' bodies, but in both cases the wounds looked days old instead of fresh. The blood had disappeared from their skin as well, though it still stained their clothing.

What exactly had just happened to them?

Obviously striving to lighten the mood, Albus gave his father a questioning look as he reached out to brush aside the dust that had gotten all over his father during the store's destruction. "So…are you done interrogating Mr. Borgin about that bracelet, Dad?" Albus asked in a little boy voice. "Cause I could really go for some ice cream right about now."

Harry shook his head at his son's flippancy, smiling in spite of himself as he ruffled his boy's hair. "I suppose some ice cream is the least I can do, especially considering what your mother is going to have to say about all this."

"We're done as well. It's time to go home, Scorpius." Keeping a tight grip on his son's arm Draco gave Mr. Borgin a dark look. "And if my son suffers any ill effects from that damn egg I'll be back to have a little talk with you, Borgin."

"Wasn't my fault, Master Malfoy." The shopkeeper whined. "Tis my neighbor, he's crazy you see. Thinks he's some potions' master, always experimenting. As it is I've probably lost half my stock, don't know how the shop will recover from this."

"And that's a bad thing?" Was Albus's innocent resort.

)

Twenty minutes later Albus and his father were in Diagon Alley, visiting various shops as they completed the shopping list Ginny Potter had given them before they'd left home that day. Fighting back the urge to rub a hand over his heart, Albus tried to figure out how to connect what had happened in Borgin and Burkes with the sudden pain he was experiencing. It was getting worse too. It wasn't unbearable, but it was damn uncomfortable.

Eventually Albus noticed a pattern to the pain, realizing that the closer he was to Knockturn Alley, the better he felt. It didn't take him long to come up with a theory that had him finally admitting to his father how he was feeling and his suspicion that the egg was causing it.

"I just have this feeling that I have to have that egg, Dad."

Harry didn't like the idea of his son being anywhere near the egg again, but he didn't like his son being in pain either. And if the egg was in their possession than they could have it studied and examined for long term effects, he reasoned. So they would buy the damn thing and take it to Albus's grandfather's department for a look over. Hopefully that would shed some light on the matter.

Back at Borgin and Burkes they went and got the egg, Albus asking the shopkeeper if Scorpius had returned since they'd parted ways. When Mr. Borgin assured them that the Malfoys had not returned the Potters assumed that Scorpius was either fine or had yet to figure out what was causing the heart pains.

Leaving the store Harry gave his son a questioning look. "Why did you ask about Malfoy junior? I was under the impression that you two stayed as far away from each other as possible." In fact, Lily had told him that the Malfoy heir had a strange habit of fleeing the room whenever he saw Albus coming.

Albus shrugged. "He's okay. I think. He hasn't tried to kill me yet anyway."

Scorpius Malfoy was a weird man; that was for sure. Albus often thought of the Slytherin as being like a ghost, both in appearance and personality. The man's hair, eyes and skin were all pale, though reasonably good looking according his sister. The Malfoy heir never spoke unless spoken to and Albus was fairly sure that the man would always disappear into the background if given a choice. He'd gone to the same school as the Slytherin for years and Albus couldn't have told anyone what made the other man tic. But they certainly weren't the mortal enemies that their fathers had been.

"Which is a good thing." Knowing the new Malfoy wasn't a threat to his children was always a weight off his shoulders. Harry figured they had enough to deal with simply by being his children. They'd all borne the brute of his celebrity well, but one less thing for them to deal with was always a good thing.

Albus looked down at the box he carried, which held the egg. "Do you suppose I should have left Scorpius a message, telling him that if he was having the heart problems he should come see me? Or more specifically, the egg."

"I wouldn't worry about it just yet. Victoire works at St. Mungos after all. If the Malfoys bring Scorpius in than she can point them in the right direction. Though I don't know what we're going to do if you both need to stay near that egg." Harry could not see that going over well with the Malfoy clan.

"Yeah, that would definitely be a problem."

)

It was one in the morning when Harry and Ginny woke up with a start, still half asleep as their minds registered the meaning of the sound that had woken them up. It was one they were very familiar with and in well practiced tandem the two gave each other a considering look.

"It's your turn to get her." They said simultaneously.

Yet even as the words passed their lips the Potters realized with a start that the sound they were hearing couldn't possibly be their daughter. Lily was fifteen now.

Harry grabbed his glasses off his bedside table, blinking into the darkness before turning to look at his wife. "What the…."

Ginny just shrugged, both turning their heads in tandem when the sound came again. They definitely weren't dreaming.

Confusion written all over their faces the two pushed back the covers and headed out of their bedroom and into the hallway, listening intently for the sound which was coming from the opposite side of the house.

As they watched Lily's door opened, their youngest sticking her head out with bleary confusion. Sensing their presence the girl turned to look at them sleepily, rubbing her eyes as she struggled to wake up enough to comprehend what was going on. "What is that?"

"Guess we're all going to find out." Leading the way Harry didn't quite know what to make of the fact that the loud, piercing sound was coming from his youngest son's room. But it definitely was not Albus making that sound, which meant there was something or someone else in the room too. And then it occurred to the man that maybe the sound was coming from Albus, who might finally be feeling the effects of the Borgin and Burkes incident.

It was that fear that had him opening the door without knocking, rushing into his son's room with his wife and daughter on his heels.

Albus's bedside light was on, providing enough light for everyone to take in the scene before them.

His back braced up against his headboard Albus had a dazed look in his green eyes as he slowly lifted his messy head to meet his father's gaze.

The sound coming again, everyone automatically moved to stand at the side of Albus's bed, the three staring down at what was cradled in the boy's arms in stunned surprise.

Wrapped up in one of Albus's pillowcases was a baby who looked no more than a couple days old.

The source of all the noise.

"Albus?" Harry began, staring down at the squirming infant.

"The egg hatched."


	2. Meeting The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all the characters find themselves in. Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoy this latest fic and let me know what you think.

Meeting The Bond

Albus's family stared at the boy blankly, completely flabbergasted as they processed his words and the meaning behind his statement. Understanding their reaction completely Albus continued his story in a dazed voice, still having a hard time believing it himself. "Before I went to sleep I put the egg in my beanbag chair on the other side of the bed. I figured it would be safe there and it was close by, just in case. I woke up when I heard crying and when I looked in the chair…the baby was there, lying where the egg was. There are pieces of the egg's shell all over the bag."

Walking over to the beanbag chair Harry crouched down and picked up the largest piece of eggshell, studying it closely while the girls leaned in for a better look at the baby. The piece of eggshell was not at all like a regular egg's, he noted. It was more like a piece of shell that you'd find at the beach. The texture was very smooth, even around the edges. And it was pure white, where as before it had had crimson swirls around it. Interesting.

Ginny, meanwhile, reached out to gently touch the baby's cheek, making soothing sounds when the baby continued to whimper pitifully with tears coating its pale lashes. All her babies had had a lot of hair, but the infant in her son's arms didn't seem to have any at all. Or so she thought until she touched the baby's head, discovering that the baby did have hair, it was just very pale and fine.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Lily wanted to know, stroking the baby's cheek.

Albus went back to staring at the baby, automatically rocking the infant against him. "A boy."

"He looks only a few days old." Ginny told her husband as he returned to her side. "What do you think happened? How could a human baby be born in an egg?"

"Hell if I know. And just because it looks human doesn't mean that it is." Harry reminded her, holding up the shell shard so that his son could see it. "You said that the egg was white before you and Malfoy touched it right? Like this?"

Albus studied the shard. "Yeah, weird. I didn't even notice that before. Of course I sorta had my hands full." He added ruefully, looking down at the baby. He couldn't seem to stop himself. It was like his very being was drawn towards the child, forbidding him from paying anyone else any attention for long.

"Hmmm."

Ginny, Harry and Albus all looked at Lily warily. It was never a good thing when she said that in that particular tone of voice.

Her gaze thoughtful Lily plucked the shard out of her father's hand, studying it carefully before setting it on his bedside table. "Interesting. Very interesting."

Harry watched his daughter, already bracing for whatever weird hypothesis would come out of her mouth. "I'm going to regret this, but what's interesting, Sweetie?"

"Well you said that both Al and Malfoy were hurt by falling debris, right? But the blood disappeared from their skin after they touched the egg. And around that time the egg went partially crimson too." Bending down, Lily took a closer look at the infant, looking it over for proof of what she was theorizing. "What if the blood that was on their skin was sucked into the egg? And what if that blood was used up and that's why it's not on the egg's shell anymore."

Ginny gave her daughter a confused look. "What do you mean…used up?"

"Malfoy's a blonde. So is the kid." Lily shrugged, a slightly devilish grin curving her lips as she dropped her little bomb. "And those are definitely Uncle George's ears. Maybe the egg used your blood to create the baby. In other words, behold….the first Potter/Malfoy baby."

Harry cursed.

Ginny gasped.

Albus gapped.

And the baby started to cry again.

)

Astoria sat in the chair beside Scorpius's bed and stared over at her son anxiously. The pain was getting worse, she knew it. Her son's chest pains had been constant ever since Draco had brought Scorpius home from Borgin and Burkes. They'd brought in the family healer to look her baby over but he'd said there was nothing he could do for him. Their son wasn't suffering from any disease or curse the healer knew of. He'd suggested retrieving the egg from Borgin and Burkes to be studied, but when Draco had gone back to the shop he'd found out that the Potters had already bought the egg and taken it home with them.

If their son wasn't better by morning Astoria intended to make Draco go to the Potters for answers.

She and her husband were taking shifts watching their son, both afraid that Scorpius would suffer a heart attack of some sort during the night. And since the clock had chimed one the pains had been getting worse. He hadn't said so, but Astoria could read her son's pale face well enough. It was a little after two now and she was counting down the minutes until morning.

The bedroom door opening Astoria got to her feet in one graceful motion, her eyes fierce as she watched one of the house elves walk over to stand before her.

The house elf bowed low before its mistress and than quickly explained his reason for intruding. "Mistress, The Chosen One is here. He is asking if Master Scorpius has been experiencing heart pains. He says that if he is than he knows how to make Master Scorpius better. He says that Master Scorpius has to come with him and that he will explain everything to you and Master if you'll all come down to speak with him."

"What?" Sitting up in bed Scorpius bit his lips against the pain, forcing himself to speak through grinched teeth. "He can fix this?"

"That is what he said, Master Scorpius."

Scorpius pushed aside the covers and slid out of bed, ignoring his mother's protests. "Mother, go tell Father that Mr. Potter is here and might be able to fix this. I'll get dressed and meet you down there."

Nodding her head reluctantly, Astoria turned back to look at the elf. "Show him into the main drawing room and remain with him there until we arrive to speak with him."

The elf disappeared to do just that and Astoria headed out to get her husband. Scorpius, meanwhile, quickly changed from his pajamas into something more appropriate for receiving guests. He was not going to speak to Albus's father looking like he'd just crawled out of bed. He had, but he had his pride too. Maybe not as much as his grandfather thought he should have, but Scorpius figured that Lucius Malfoy had enough pride for both of them.

After changing into a long sleeved shirt and trousers Scorpius headed out of his room, unable to stop himself from massaging his chest as he headed for the main staircase. It didn't help, but it made him feel better to pretend that the gesture made the pain more bearable.

Meeting up with his parents Scorpius walked down the stairs, sandwiched protectively between them.

When they entered the drawing room they found Harry standing in front of the fireplace, his wrinkled clothes suggesting that he'd thrown them on rather hastily. His hair was mushed too, though that wasn't unusual for a Potter.

"You can help him?" Draco demanded to know, getting straight to the point.

"I think so. But he needs to come with me now." Harry lifted a hand to silence the protests he could see forming on their lips. "You two can come as well."

"Why do we have to come with you? Is it because of that egg?" Astoria wanted to know, placing a protective hand on the small of her son's back. "Is your son hurting too? Do we need to take him to St. Mungos?"

"Albus is fine. As soon as he got his hands on the egg he was fine."

"So…so we both need to be where the egg is?" Scorpius asked hesitantly, trying to understand.

"Yes well…." And knowing better than to spring it on them at the last minute, Harry forced himself to explain the messed up situation. "We figured out before we left London that the farther away from the egg Albus was the more his heart pains increased. We bought the egg, took it home, and before he went to bed my son put the egg in a chair near his bed. At approximately one o'clock this morning that egg hatched. There was, somehow, a baby inside the egg which has been fussing and crying ever since it…was born. It's not hungry, hurt, wet, cold, hot or ignored, but it won't stop crying. The only other thing we could think of that the baby might want and need is the other person who helped…activate its evolution. Aka you, Scorpius."

"Me?" Scorpius blinked at the man in surprise, his sleep deprived mind trying to wrap itself around what the older man was suggesting. "You think it's crying for me?"

"A baby?" Astoria added, crossing her arms in front of her as she tried to process that. "A baby was inside of the egg? And you think the boys are responsible for it hatching?"

"That's the theory we're going by. We'll know more if Scorpius will come with me. If you'll all come with me." Harry added quickly, reading the situation correctly. "If the child stops crying and your son's heart problems cease with their introduction than I think it would be safe to assume we're on the right track. My niece, Victoire, who's a healer at St. Mungos, is at my house now, looking the infant over. She can give us all her medical opinion when we get there."

Neither of Scorpius's parents liked the idea, but they couldn't see a flaw in the Gryffindor's plan either.

They were going to the Potters.

)

It struck Harry as supremely ironic that he was removing the protective shields around his property to let Malfoys in. He and Hermione had made the barriers to keep people like the Malfoys out after all. But it was a strange night and Harry had a feeling things were only going to get stranger as the day progressed.

Motioning for them to follow him when it was safe to enter the road leading to his home and the Burrow, Harry kept quiet as he considered his impressions of the youngest Malfoy. He'd never paid the boy much attention, the kid really did tend to fade into the background like a chameleon. The boy had the Malfoy hair color but not the receding hairline that tended to go with it. Lucky break, kid, Harry thought with the smallest of smiles. In fact, the boy's short blonde hair was being well tousled by the breeze and was sticking out all over the place in messy spikes that reminded Harry of his daughter's hair. The boy was on the thin, slender side, a runner's build really. Since Lily had said that the Malfoy heir ran away from Albus like the Roadrunner from Wiley E. Coyote, Harry supposed the boy came by the build naturally.

The boy didn't seem to have the edge to him that Draco had always had. Scorpius Malfoy didn't seem like a Malfoy in demeanor at all really. There was a quietness about him, a calm that suggested the boy knew exactly who he was and was quite content to stay that way. A maturity and inner self confidence that Draco had lacked at his son's present age. Which was a very good thing, Harry supposed, if Lily's wild predictions and theories turned out to have basis.

As they came closer to the house Harry looked over his shoulder at Scorpius. "Do you feel any better, Scorpius?"

"Yes, Sir. The pain has lessened by half." Which was both a really good thing and a really bad thing, Scorpius thought as he turned his attention back to the Potter house. It was a good thing because it was nice to be pain free, but a bad thing because it not only proved Mr. Potter's theory, but it also meant that he didn't have the pain to take his mind off the fact that he was going to see Albus again. And he was not only going to have to see him, he was going to have to talk to him and be in his general vicinity for possibly hours, maybe even days. Not to mention his parents were going to be there too, Scorpius thought with blooming dread. They'd never seen him around Albus, not really. What if they noticed the change in his behavior and put two and two together?

He really didn't want his father having a heart attack right in front of him.

But there was no way to get out of it and so Scorpius found himself entering the Potter family home, praying desperately in his head that things would work out, somehow.

Harry led them all into the Potter version of a drawing room where everyone had gathered. Albus was standing and looking in their direction, the baby in his arms no longer crying as it squirmed in the boy's arms, seeming to be looking at the new arrivals as well. Victoire, Ginny and Lily all had their heads together over what looked like a photo album and Teddy lounged in one of chairs looking tired and bemused over the whole thing.

As soon as his eyes landed on the infant Scorpius saw nothing else. There was nothing else in the room as far as his mind was concerned. The pain was gone and in its place was a weight, but a good weight. Without a word to the adults around him Scorpius strolled across the room like he owned the place, not even acknowledging Albus's existence as he came to a stop in front of the other boy. Looking down at the bundle wrapped up in the man's arms Scorpius reached down to carefully touch one of the small hands waving in his direction.

All tears and crying forgotten, the baby gurgled in delight.

"Guess that proves one of Lily's theories." Albus said softly, his head bent as well as the two formed a sort of house with their bodies, the baby inside of it. "You want to hold him?" It should have felt weird to ask, especially since he'd hated to hand the baby over to his mother, sister, and than Victoire when she'd arrived to look the baby over. But this didn't feel wrong. This felt absolutely right.

He had no experience holding babies but Scorpius nodded anyway, taking the baby from Albus with a rather endearing awkwardness. Then the baby was in his arms and it wasn't awkward at all, Scorpius thought as his lips curved into a half smile.

From across the room Astoria put her hands together as if in prayer and pressed her fingers to her lips. "He looks just like you." She whispered to her husband. "Just like you the first time they put him into your arms."

Draco and Harry shared a look that suggested they were not at all thrilled by Astoria's observations.

Victoire was though, fascinated by the possibilities. "I looked the baby over from top to bottom and he appears to be human, Uncle Harry. He is as fit as a fiddle. I would put him at three or four days old, at least for a normal baby. I don't know how he came to be in an egg, but I think we should go in to St. Mungos after we have all gotten some more sleep to talk to The Sounding Board Wall."

"The Sounding Board Wall?" Harry repeated, never taking his eyes off his son and Draco's. The two were totally wrapped up in the baby so that he wasn't even sure they were listening to what was being said. It was unnerving the hell out of him.

"Yes. It's where we keep the portraits of the best healers St. Mungos has ever had. We healers can go to the room and ask them for their opinions on hard to help patients. It can be very hard, they all tend to argue with each other, but I am pretty good at getting them to talk one at a time. Hopefully they will know something and can point us in the right direction. If not, well then I guess we will have to get Aunt Hermione and Rosie to see what they can find out through books."

Draco wasn't liking the look of the situation any more than his former arch nemesis was. "Shouldn't we just go now?"

The girl stifled a yawn. "It is very early, they will not like being woken up unless it's an emergency. Besides, we will all need our wits about us to talk to them and get our answers. What we should all do is get some sleep and than reconvene at St Mungos at about ten o'clock? That should give everyone time to catch up on their sleep and be ready for whatever answers we find." Having listened to her cousin Lily's theories Victoire figured they could all use as much energy and brainpower as possible.

Astoria turned to look at Ginny, knowing she would be the boss of the house. "Do you have a guest room we could borrow until we leave for St. Mungos?" She was not leaving her child, it was so not happening. She'd camp outside first whether Draco liked it or not.

"Uhm…yes…we turned James's room into a guest room after he moved out." Seeing where this was going Ginny deliberately didn't look at her husband as she gave Astoria the answer the woman was looking for. She'd do the same in the woman's position after all. "You and…Draco are welcome to it. Scorpius can bed down in Albus's room. I had Teddy bring down the baby cradle from the attic and it's set up in there already too."

Those words broke through Scorpius's subconscious like nothing else could have at that moment.

Bed.

Albus's room.

With Albus.

Oh shit.


	3. Naming The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoy this latest chapter and let me know what you think.

Naming The Bond

Seeing that his father and the elder Malfoy were about to raise objections to their wives' plans Teddy thought it wise to step in and smooth things over before he and Victoire headed home to get some more sleep. Not that he owed the Malfoy family anything, but Scorpius at least had done him no wrong and the kid was his third cousin, technically. The situation was nobodies fault, and he figured that that needed to be reinforced.

"I think we all need to head for bed now." Teddy suggested quietly but firmly. "Albus and Scorpius are going to need our help and we won't be any good to them if we're too cranky to work together on this."

"Exactly. We're all in this together." Lily added, seeing what her godbrother was trying to do. Than her basic, twisted nature kicked in with her next comment. "We're all family now after all, thanks to the kid."

Teddy winced, really wishing his godsister hadn't added that last part.

Judging from the faces the adults were making, he wasn't alone in that thought.

"We don't know that the boy really is their…son yet." Victoire pointed out, trying to put some water on the fire her blunt cousin had started with her innocent little statement. Innocent her perfectly rounded ass, Victoire thought with a dark look in Lily's direction. The girl just loved to start trouble in typical Weasley style.

"But what are we going to do if the three of them are stuck together?" Draco demanded to know, too riled and worried about the situation to even think about sleeping now. He'd just have nightmares anyway. "They both have another year left of school, and classes begin in less than a month."

Scorpius and Albus exchanged looks, both realizing that the older man had a point. They were already into the first week of August after all.

'We'll figure out that hurdle when we get to it." Ginny announced firmly, her voice broking no argument. There had been enough of that already. "We'll deal with whatever comes when it comes. Right now the boys and the baby need to get some sleep. I'm going to see Teddy and Victoire out and then we're ALL going to bed for some shut eye."

"You don't mess with her when she uses that tone of voice." Albus whispered to Scorpius, just in case Scorpius's mother was less violent than his own and therefore didn't know to be wary.

Scorpius nodded, hoping that Albus didn't notice the fine color climbing up his neck to his cheeks. Now that he knew what was in store for him, he was hyper aware of just how close they were standing to each other.

But luck was with Scorpius and nobody noticed but Lily.

And she'd been keeping her knowledge of the Malfoy's crush on her brother a secret for years, Lily thought as she followed her family to the front door to see Victoire and Teddy off. She was capable of keeping her mouth shut when she knew someone would be genuinely hurt if she didn't. And besides, she figured her knowledge of Malfoy's crush on Albus would be put down as one of her crazy ideas by everyone anyway.

But as always, Lily knew she was right, even if everyone else was too blind to see it.

Now what was going to happen with that crush, Lily wondered as she covertly watched the two out of the corner of her eye.

She couldn't wait to find out.

)

Scorpius lay as still as the dead, staring blindly up at the ceiling as he tried to ignore his surroundings. That was very, very hard to do when all around him were Albus Potter's things. He was wearing Albus Potter's clothes because he hadn't brought anything to sleep in when he'd arrived at the Potters. And most difficult to ignore was the sound of Albus breathing from the bed on the other side of the room. Albus had offered to take the air mattress instead, but he had insisted that the floor was just fine. Sleeping in the man's bed would have been too much for him.

The baby cradle was between them, the little boy within it asleep for the moment. He'd conked out right away, and had yet to make so much as a whimper. Mrs. Potter had said the baby would probably wake up hungry eventually, but so far all was good with him. Victoire had brought some of her leftover baby formula for them to use when that happened and Albus, thankfully, had been given the job of feeding the baby.

He, after all, had no idea what to do when it came to babies.

And the baby still didn't seem quite real to him yet, Scorpius thought as he studied the cradle, imagining the infant inside of it. At least not as his.

Albus was very much real on the other hand, the Slytherin thought dryly as he pictured the other man in the room. And it was impossible to ignore the man given the situation.

Especially when the Gryffindor started talking.

"You still awake over there?"

"Yes."

"I thought so. You weren't breathing like you were asleep. Question for you. Are all your relatives with Black blood named after stars or constellations? Andromeda told me about it once but I'm a little hazy on the details. Astronomy was never my strong suit."

"Most of us are. My grandmother was named after a friend of her mother's who passed away when they were girls. Why?"

"Well everything that's happened…well I can't really wrap my head around it to tell you the truth. My sister has all these wacky theories and I figured, until I have some actual, cold hard facts to deal with…the best thing I can do is concentrate on what I do know, like the fact that the kid needs a name. We can't just keep calling him baby or it after all."

Seeing where the Gryffindor was going with this Scorpius was surprised that the man would consider carrying on the Black family naming tradition. But then again, his crush was thoughtful and considerate like that. His feelings would be so much easier to deal with if the man would develop some more flaws ASAP, Scorpius thought with a sigh.

"So do you have any suggestions for names?" Albus continued from the other side of the room. "Like I said, astronomy's not my area of expertise. I forgot it all as soon as I could drop the subject."

Scorpius smiled at the comment and than considered the question, shrugging his shoulders as he focused on staring at the ceiling. That made holding the conversation a little easier. "Most constellations and stars names are more appropriate for girls. Like Cassiopeia, Lyra or Aquila. My mother likes to say that I got the last decent one for a male."

That had Albus chuckling, a sound that had Scorpius smiling in response again. Which was a novel experience, since talking to Albus usually made him feel like ulcers were forming in his stomach. He was always so afraid to give himself away that he'd never been able to really appreciate having the Gryffindor's attention before. It was a nice surprise to learn that he could talk to the other man somewhat normally so long as they were on opposite sides of the room and in the dark.

"So not a lot of good guy names, huh? Well what about Orion? That's one of the few constellations I do remember. We could just call him Rion for short, and pronounce it like 'Ryan'. What do you think about that? That's a name I figure he won't grow up to hate. Probably."

"No."

"Why not?" Albus's surprise over Scorpius's bluntness was in his voice.

Scorpius's lips curved into a grimace. "I don't mind the name itself, but you won't want to name him that. Bellatrix, the Amazon Star, is one of the main stars that make up the constellation Orion."

There was silence and then, "You're right, we're naming him that over my dead and rotting corpse."

That's what he'd figured. He'd certainly never planned to name his son Orion when the time came. Scorpius wasn't any fonder of his great aunt than Albus was. He considered her a serious blot on the family name and bloodline, regardless of how his grandparents tried to pretty her actions up for him. ""I thought so. The constellation Scorpius is supposed to be the scorpion that killed Orion, too."

Scorpius could hear the smile in the Gryffindor's voice when Albus answered. "Yup, Orion is definitely out. You got a better idea?"

"How about Corvus for a name?" Scorpius suggested, wanting to take both their minds off the actions of Bellatrix Lestrange. Thoughts of her weren't particularly comforting or restful.

"That's a constellation, right? What's it of again?" Albus asked.

"A crow. The baby did come from an egg after all."

"Okay, we're not going with that one either." Was Albus's firm opinion on the name possibility. "I'm not going to name any son of mine after an ugly scavenger who eats dead things. That's almost as bad as naming him anything remotely related to Bella Bitch."

Scorpius's eyebrows rose at the nickname Albus had apparently assigned his great aunt, but he had to admit that the name did fit her. And he'd certainly heard her called worse. "We don't have to name him after something to do with astronomy." Scorpius pointed out quietly, thinking that this discussion could end very badly, especially given the number of ancestors he had who already had claim over the various astrological options. Albus would not want his son being named after most of them.

"I just figure we should have some name options your family would like…just in case. Just in case he really is…ours."

As silence fell over them at Albus's words and underlying implications, Scorpius desperately turned his attention to the name game, agreeing with the Gryffindor earlier statement that it was a good way to redirect his unsettling and downright scary thoughts. Mentally going down the list of possible names in his head Scorpius paused to mull over one he would never have consider normally. It was certainly unusual, but would be…oddly appropriate in this case.

"How about Phoenix?"

"What did you say?"

"I said, what about calling him Phoenix? It's a constellation, and phoenixes have meaning to your family too, right? That was what their resistance group was called, the one your family was in with Dumbledore. And a phoenix helped save your parents in the Chamber of Secrets. The phoenix is a mystical creature that inspires great emotion in all who hear it. It sorta fits then…to at least consider that for a name."

"Phoenix huh? " There was another thoughtful pause before Albus continued. "Yeah. We should definitely consider that one on the list of possibilities. Phoenix Malfoy Potter. It's got a ring to it."

"Yeah. Yeah it does." And that was the best Scorpius could say, around the lump in his throat at the idea.

)

Albus was an early riser by nature. Despite the lack of sleep he'd gotten the Gryffindor woke up promptly at seven, blinking away his sleepiness as he sat up in his bed. Combing his overly messy bed-head back from his face, Albus looked around blearily as his hand automatically went to his bedside table to grab his glasses. Sliding them into place Albus appreciated the clarity as he pushed back his covers, getting to his feet to stretch. Scratching his stomach with one hand while the other stifled a yawn, Albus had to blink a couple of times at the sight of the cradle in his room.

How had that gotten there?

Then he remembered what had happened with the egg and Albus literally felt his knees go weak. It was a very strange feeling. His heart beating furiously in his chest, Albus walked rather drunkenly over to the cradle, looking down at the infant it held. The baby was covered in his own baby blanket and was wearing baby clothes he'd worn as a baby too. His sister had even given the baby one of her old stuffed animals to sleep with.

Are you my son, Albus wondered with a mixture of wonder and nerves, reaching down to gently brush his fingers over the top of the baby's downy little head. The idea was downright mind blowing, especially when he considered the implications of it all.

He'd always been so careful with the girls he'd dated because he'd never wanted to be one of those guys that ended up having to marry someone because he'd knocked her up. He was a man who'd been raised by example to always do his duty, to do the honorable, hard thing when necessary. And if he'd wavered his mother and Gran would have made him anyway.

Now here he was, possibly a father at seventeen, and he hadn't even gotten laid in the process.

And on that note Albus moved around the cradle to get a look at the man who was, quite possibly, the second newest fixture in his foreseeable future, and part of the reason he was in his current situation.

Talk about your unexpected kicks in the ass.

Standing over the sleeping man Albus stared down at the still blonde, studying the Slytherin closely for the first time since they were kids. He'd gone to school expecting trouble from the newest Malfoy offspring, but when it had become obvious Scorpius had no interest in bothering him he'd pretty much ignored the other man's existence. Scorpius Malfoy didn't stick out and didn't draw attention to himself in any way other than their schoolwork after all. The Slytherin was really smart, almost as smart as Rosie. And that was saying something. But outside of the classroom the two of them didn't meet or even speak at all.

The first thing Albus noticed about the sleeping man was the hair. Albus's lips twitched in amusement at the way the Slytherin's hair stuck out all over the place like the man had stuck his finger into a Muggle light socket. It was pretty cute. Very Un-Slytherin, Albus mentally added with a grin. It also made the other man seem more approachable and less…stoic. The Slytherin, on those rare occasions he had paid attention to him, had always seemed apart from everyone else in some intrinsic way. Like a ghost surrounded by mortals. There, but not quite a part of their world either. He seemed very human and normal now, with his spiky hair and flushed cheeks.

Just another teenager like him, whose world had been rocked just like his. And they were in this together, whether they liked it or not, Albus reasoned.

How they were going to handle that was still in the air too.

A Malfoy, sleeping in his room and wearing his clothes, Albus mused as he turned back to look at the baby again. Their ancestors were probably rolling in their graves.

)

Breakfast was an interesting affair, probably the first time in history Potters and Malfoys had ever eaten together at the same table peacefully. Things were awkward as hell, but Lily kept the conversations going since she found the situation so weirdly funny. Draco found her even more annoying than her parents, and ignored her pointedly. Astoria at least tried to join in, sensing that they really were all going to be stuck with each other for the foreseeable future.

"It's strange how he's not hungry." Astoria commented, trying to shift the conversation from another discussion of the Potter girl's depressing theories. Besides, it really was strange how the baby had yet to eat since it's…birth. Both boys had tried to feed the baby without any luck.

"Or he just hates the formula." Ginny suggested after taking a sip from her orange juice. "Albus was picky that way. If it didn't come from me he'd spit it up on whoever was unlucky enough to be feeding him at the time."

"MOM!" Albus blushed bright red as he stared at his mother in horror.

Astoria had to laugh, sharing a look of understanding with the other woman. "Scorpius was a very demanding baby too. He threw hissy fits like you wouldn't believe when I'd try to put him down. He did not like to be away from his food source one little bit."

"Mother!"

Laughing in delight, Lily couldn't remember the last time she'd enjoyed breakfast more.

Shaking his head at his daughter Harry momentarily forgot who his family was sitting with. "Careful, Lily. Your mom has more embarrassing stories to tell about you than Al and James put together. And she has the pictures to prove it."

Also completely forgetting just who the other woman was married to Ginny grinned at Astoria wickedly. "I have to show you this one picture before we head to St. Mungos. When Lily was two her brothers decided that they were bored coloring on paper and decided to color on her instead, head to toe. She liked it so much that she insisted they color her every morning for almost three weeks. She'd cry her eyes out if we didn't let them."

"I liked being colorful." Lily explained when the Malfoys gave her weird looks.

"That explains a lot." Draco muttered under his breath. The girl's short, spiky hair was typical Potter black, but it somehow had bright, Weasley red tips. And the girl was wearing pajamas that looked like swirling rainbows. She was as colorful as she was annoying.

"Well we should be cleaning up." Harry announced hurriedly. "We have to be there by ten after all."


	4. Learning The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's just the way it's gotta be. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy.

Note: Just to be clear, the Gabrielle character is in no way related to Fleur or her sister.

Learning The Bond

Victoire led the way through the hallways of St Mungos, ignoring the stares they were getting as they traveled together. It wasn't every day that people saw Potters and Malfoys walking side by side peacefully after all. James and Teddy were going to be sorry they missed the show. But her man had to work and James was off in Romania for a Quidditch match.

Arriving at the correct door Victoire opened it and then stepped back to let everyone file into the room. Closing the door behind her once they were all inside Victoire wasn't surprised that all the portraits were talking, moving from painting to painting as they jostled around to get the best view possible. Her Uncle Harry was the main attraction, which was nothing new to her.

Rolling his eyes at the attention his former rival was getting, Draco glared at Victoire. "Care to shut them up so that we can get this over with?"

Victoire gave the older man a look that could kill for daring to think he could tell her what to do.

The portraits didn't like his tone of voice either and all called out various suggestions of poisons and potions he could consume that might help him with his ungracious and insulting manner. So peeved were they at his lack of respect for them that they all ignored Victoire's attempts to speak up and get to the point of their visit.

"QUIET!

All went quiet as eyes went to a portrait off to the left which featured an attractive, silver haired witch.

"My great, great, great grand nephew is here so obviously this request has something to do with him. Given the sacrifices he made in order to bring that dreadful Lord Voldemort down, I think the least we can do is put aside our egos and see what's so important that members of my family are tolerating the company of Malfoys for the first time in decades."

"You're my great, great, great grand aunt?" Harry asked, moving closer to study the portrait with interest.

"Yes, I was a Potter before I married." The witch smiled out of the portrait. "Now what have you all come to ask us? We're happy to help you."

Taking the lead Victoire explained to the portraits what had happened to her cousin and Scorpius Malfoy the day before, showing them the shards of the egg in case that was important. Once she was done explaining the portraits began talking amongst themselves, theorizing as to what might have occurred to explain the baby in Albus's arms. Again they talked over themselves, but eventually they quieted down and an old wizard that reminded Harry and Draco of their former Headmaster began to speak.

"We think that the most likely explanation is that what the boys touched was a Soul Egg." The old man began in a surprisingly deep baritone. "I would imagine none of you have heard of them, they're incredibly rare after all, especially in this day and age. I would be correct in assuming that all of you know what a Dementor is and does?" The wizard nodded when everyone nodded back at him. "Soul Eggs are the polar opposites. They come into existence as a result of an excess of positive, loving emotions in a place. They are created from love and happiness, and can only be hatched when two people of the same species touch it with their blood. The blood is absorbed into the egg and is used to create a child who is, genetically, the offspring of the two who hatched it."

"But the two people have to have a strong, emotional bond for the egg to hatch." A wizard interjected, obviously one of the people who disagreed with the wizard's diagnosis. "The one is a Potter and the other a Malfoy. They hate each other. And they're both men!"

"Gender doesn't matter and of course they have a bond." Harry's ancestor announced with a rolling of her eyes. "The Malfoys and my family have been fighting for over a century. Our fates have always been entwined. The influence we've had on each other's lives can't possibly be measured. If that's not a bond than I don't know what the heck is."

Draco and Harry were not pleased to hear they had a bond.

Albus found it funny and Scorpius just flushed and looked away.

"So if this is a Soul Egg than the baby is my grandson…genetically?" Ginny asked.

The portrait who had begun the explanation nodded his head. "Yes. That's one of the ways the egg insures that it won't be abandoned even though it wasn't born to the two naturally. The child also shares a bond with his or her creators that prevents them from leaving it without experiencing physical pain. This is because the parents are both its protection and its food supply."

"Wait, what?" Albus looked down warily at the baby in his arms. "You mean it…like a vampire?"

The wizard chuckled. "No. It doesn't feed on blood. It feeds on love and positive emotions. It's the opposite of a Dementor, as I said. When it's young it can feed only from those who share blood ties with it. The ties you two have to him, your inability to leave him without pain, will loosen after a time, especially if you love it and it feels secure enough to slow its growth."

"Slow its growth?" Lily asked, fascinated by the whole idea.

"The child will grow faster or slower depending on its parents." Piped up a new witch. "A Soul Egg can be hatched by any species after all. Some aren't what one would call particular paternal or maternal. The child's growth rate speeds up when it feels the bond isn't sufficient enough to hold his parents together or that the parents don't want it."

"So what you're saying is that we don't ever have to feed or change the kid?" Albus asked, grinning widely when a number of the former healers nodded their head in agreement. "Damn, how awesome is that." Shifting, Albus elbowed Scorpius in the side. "Do you and I know how to procreate or what? Best kid ever!"

Scorpius flushed more as he gapped at the Gryffindor, nodding weakly since that seemed to be the response Albus wanted.

Just as fascinated as her cousins, Victoire spoke up eagerly. "You said that these Soul Eggs are like the flip side of Dementors. Dementors, when they're fully formed, cause misery and unhappiness wherever they go. Does that mean that the child will grow up to spread feelings of love and happiness?"

"Exactly." The first wizard informed her. "A child of a Soul Egg, which is called a Katra when it reaches maturity, inspires goodwill and happiness wherever it goes. One remembers their happiest memories around them and it's impossible not to love them. They are pure and noble beings, to kill one is an act almost as heinous as the killing of a unicorn. They are worshipped by many non human species and are considered very lucky. To be the parents of one is a great honor."

)

The portraits couldn't tell the group much more than that, so they all headed out feeling very numb and addled. No one really spoke except for Lily, who had taken the baby from her brother and was talking to him, telling him all about how much fun they were going to have and how cool she thought it was to have a nephew with super powers.

"What's his name, anyway?" Lily demanded, walking backwards so that she could look from Scorpius to Albus. "Kid's gotta have a name."

"It's Phoenix. We're calling him Phoenix." Dazed, Scorpius stared at the girl without really seeing her.

"Phoenix? Why Phoenix?" Ginny asked, giving the boys a puzzled look. Not that the whole situation wasn't weird as hell to begin with.

Feeling just as shocked and dazed as Scorpius, Albus slowly ran through the conversation he and Scorpius had had before going to sleep. He really was a father, Albus thought dimly. He and Scorpius Malfoy were parents. Of the same kid. The baby in his sister's arms was his son. A mystical being yes, but also his son. A son who would be expecting all the things a son should expect and get from a father. And he didn't even have nine months to get used to the idea. He felt like his head was going to explode any minute. His partner in parenthood wasn't looking much better.

"Well I think it is a beautiful name." Victoire announced with a decisive nod. "It is unique and special, just like the baby. And you two don't need to look so worried, we will all help you with the little one. He is our flesh and blood too."

Lily chuckled as a thought occurred to her. "Wait till Gran finds out that you're a father at seventeen, Al."

What color Albus had had vanished from his face.

"It wasn't his fault." Ginny gave her daughter a 'not amused' look. "But she does have a point. We'll have to call the family in and let them know about the situation. I would be correct in assuming that it would be best if we told our respective family members separately, Mrs. Malfoy?"

Astoria's gaze was rueful. "Since we're going to be grandmothers together you might as well make that Astoria, Ginny. And yes, it would be best if we tell my in laws without your family present. I don't think Lucius will react well to the news that the heir to his family legacy is half Potter."

Draco went as pale as Albus. "Holy….I didn't realize…." The child was male and technically Scorpius's firstborn. That meant that someday, in the distance future, the baby his son and Potter's boy had created would be the legal heir to the Malfoy dynasty. It would inherit everything whether his father liked it or not. And Lucius Malfoy would like the idea about as much as his father liked the Potter family.

Everyone reacting to the revelation, even Lily lost her smirk. Only the baby remained happy, gurgling away in the girl's arms as he stared up at the pretty dangles in her ears.

"Yeah, I'm gonna be glad to miss that meeting." Lily murmured, clutching the baby a little closer protectively. He was her blood after all, which meant anyone wishing him harm was gonna have to get through her first. And Lucius was definitely going to wish the baby nothing but harm.

"Lets all just go home and talk this over." Harry finally said wearily, a headache pounding in his head at the complications the baby's existence presented.

"Whose home?" Draco reminded the man darkly, crossing his arms in front of him.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh brother."

While everyone discussed where they would be heading in heated debate, Scorpius walked over and motioned for Lily to give him the baby, the girl doing so without hesitation. Holding the baby close against his chest Scorpius just stared down at the infant, tuning out the arguing as he stared down at his son. His son, Scorpius thought as all sorts of emotions coursed through him. And here he'd thought the feeling Albus inspired him were overwhelming, Scorpius mused wryly. They were nothing in comparison to what he was feeling now. And he would not be taken away from the baby, and he would be the best father he could be. Those were the only two things Scorpius knew for sure at the moment. And he was more than prepared to make that clear to his grandfather. Lucius Malfoy had always intimidated the hell out of him, but for his son Scorpius was prepared to take whatever the old man dished out.

Slugging his arm over Scorpius's shoulder Albus stared down at the baby with the same mixture of love and protectiveness. "Whatever they say…you and I are in this together, right?"

Scorpius nodded firmly. "Right."

"Okay." That settled, Albus glanced over at the arguing parents and then looked over at his sister. "Do me a solid, squirt? Tell the arguing grandparents that we three have got some quick errands to run and that if they're feeling like behaving like adults we'll meet up with you guys outside that restaurant near Uncle George's store, Armitage."

"I can do that." Lily gave her brother a questioning look. "What are you three going to be doing?"

"Errands." Was Albus's innocent reply as he slid a hand down to rest against the small of Scorpius's back, herding the man away from their families and off in another direction.

)

Doing his best to concentrate on the baby he was holding and not the hand pressed up against his back, Scorpius looked over at Albus, praying to every deity ever imagined that he didn't turn into a blushing idiot shortly. "So what kid of errands are we running, exactly? They're all going to be angry with us when they realize we're gone."

"The biggest immediate problem is living quarters." Albus began as he continued to direct them both. "My parents are never going to agree to let me live with your family for a month and your family would be just as thrilled to have you living with mine. That means you and I have to find a place to live with the baby for a month that isn't going to put their backs up and make one or the other feel slighted."

"And where do you propose we find such a place?"

"I have an idea. We'll go there after I make one quick stop at my girlfriend's. We were supposed to go to a concert tonight and she lives two blocks from here. She'll be less pissed off at me if I cancel in person. Oh, we should probably drop in on your girlfriend too, right? This isn't something she should read about in the paper. Where does she live?"

"My girlfriend?"

"Yeah, that really tall Slytherin girl. I've heard people say you two are all but engaged already."

Scorpius knew who the other man was talking about. "Her name is Gabrielle and she's not my girlfriend. Though we will probably get married one day." It was what their parents wanted and Gabrielle really liked the idea and him for some reason. He liked her as well, though not in that way. But since he was never going to get what he wanted romantic wise, Scorpius had always figured that marrying his best friend was the next best thing.

"Hold on." Albus stopped and looked over at Scorpius in puzzlement. "She's not your girl but you're probably going to marry her? You do know it's the twenty first century, mate. You don't have to marry anyone you don't want to."

"It's complicated. And I'll send her a letter when we're done with your errands." Gabrielle was not terribly fond of Albus, and her family…well her brothers and Albus's brother had gotten along about as well as three wet cats in a bag when they'd been at Hogwarts together. Of course Elle's brothers were as dumb as posts, but they were very big, very mean posts.

"If you say so."

)

The rest of their journey was in silence, which suited Scorpius just fine. There was less of a chance of him being an idiot if he didn't have to talk. Besides, he wasn't exactly looking forward to having to see Albus's girlfriend either. Naomi Sutherland was a year younger than them and in Hufflepuff. She was intelligent, beautiful, played Quidditch seeker like Albus and loved small animals and children.

In short, everyone agreed she'd be the perfect Mrs. Albus Potter.

Which required him to hate her guts till his dying day, Scorpius mentally added.

Arriving at their destination Scorpius opted to wait with the baby at the bottom of the stairs leading to the girl's door, the two boys figuring it was best for Albus to explain the situation first before the girl caught sight of the Slytherin and assumed the worst. That and their son was seriously adorable and they didn't want Naomi being so distracted by Phoenix's extreme cuteness while Albus explained the situation to her.

As it turned out it was a very good thing Albus wasn't holding the baby since within two minutes of the girl coming out to enthusiastically kiss Albus hello the furious Hufflepuff punched her boyfriend in the jaw, called him a couple names that Scorpius was very glad Phoenix was too young to understand, and than slammed the door in the man's face.

Doing his best to hide his concern Scorpius hurried up the steps to where Albus was gingerly moving his jaw. "Are you all right? Why did she hit you?"

Carefully prodding his cheek Albus turned and gave the Slytherin a rueful look. "She took my explanation the wrong way. And to be fair, I didn't realize how badly I'd worded it until she was calling me…words I can't say in front of the baby." Walking down the steps with Scorpius to street level Albus did his best to ignore the throbbing pain. "I said something to the effect that due to a little accident I was now a father."

"Ah." Albus and the Hufflepuff had been dating for almost a year, the girl had thought Albus had come to admit he'd cheated on her with someone else and knocked the girl up. Which just went to prove that he was right in thinking that the Sutherland girl wasn't good enough for Albus, Scorpius thought smugly to himself. Only a right prat would think someone like Albus would ever cheat.

"So yeah, when you tell your Slytherin whatever about this, you'd better be sure to explain it all very clearly to her. Because if that's how a Hufflepuff reacts to the news than I'd hate to think what a Slytherin would do to you."


	5. Legalizing The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations I put those characters in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy this chapter, let me know what you think.

Legalizing The Bond

Since he knew he was perilously close to doing a victory dance over the possibility that Potter had just been dumped by the Hufflepuff Scorpius thought it wise to change the subject. "So…now that that's out of the way…you said something about having a place for us to stay? Is it near here?" He had a hard time imagining such a place, especially one that their parents would all agree on.

"Well it's in London, but we'll have to disparate to get there. The place I'm thinking of, well it's number 12 Grimmauld Place. That's why I want Phoenix with us, to see if he'll be okay being in a place where the atmosphere isn't exactly the cheeriest. And Kreacher, the Black house elf is still there, but he's not well, we don't expect him to live much more than a couple years at most now. So really we'd have the place to ourselves and there's more than enough room. Plus it has ties to your side of the family which should please your relatives, right? And we'd be in London, close to everything we might need food and supplies wise. Not that my Gran and Mum won't be stopping by often to make sure of that. And ... well us living there, you and the baby specifically, would mean a lot to Kreacher. And even if we can't stay there, it would still mean a lot to him, meeting you and the baby. What's left of the Noble House of Black so to speak. So if you could play up that angle, well I'd appreciate it. It was thinking how happy he'd be at the news that gave me the living quarters idea. Oh, and his room, well it's sorta a shrine to the Black family. We gave him Regulus Black's bedroom for it. Compliments on him protecting your legacy would go over really well."

"Okay." People in Potter's family really were pro house elf, Scorpius thought as nodded his agreement of the plan. And this elf in particular, well no one would have blamed Albus's father if the man had made the elf disappear permanently after what it had done to the last Black male heir. That the Potters had kept it around and actually pampered it struck him as…well there really weren't words to describe what he thought about that.

"All right then, let's go."

The two apparating themselves and the baby, they arrived on the street facing the building, which shifted and grew to reveal the house it concealed. Once it was done the two headed for the front door, Albus using his wand to perform the spells necessary to allow them entrance. While no one but Kreacher lived in the house, his father had kept up the security so that no one would disturb the place or the elf who still tried to stand guard over it.

Scorpius's first thought upon stepping into the house was that it was not a happy place. His grandmother didn't talk about her aunt and uncle much but they couldn't have been very warm, welcoming people to have a house that seemed so…cold. Part of it was the fact that it was starkly obvious no one lived there anymore, but there was just a feel to the place that made one feel completely unwelcome. Looking down at the baby Scorpius could see that the baby was frowning but not crying, which he took to be a good sign.

Obviously thinking along the same lines Albus patted the baby's head. "Well he doesn't seem to hate the place so far. Gloomy as hell of course, but we could fix up a few rooms, the ones we'll actually be using. A lot of this is how it was before, Kreacher hates anything changing here. He lives in the past as much as possible."

"So he lives here alone, the elf?"

"No one wants to live here with him, and he wants no one living with him. We've hired an elf from an agency to come in three times a week to check on him and do the cleaning and such, my parents often take lunch here to check on things too. My dad says that after Kreacher's passed we'll totally redo the place, sell it maybe." It could be a decent enough place, he supposed, in the right hands. "Anyway, let's go up and see Kreacher, take a quick tour, and then we better be heading back so that we don't miss our deadline at the restaurant."

"Okay."

Albus led the way up the stairs, heading for the door to what had once been Regulus Black's room. Stopping there the Gryffindor knocked politely, waiting until a bell sounded before he opened it. Moving aside so that Scorpius and the baby could go first Albus gave the man a reassuring look as he passed by him.

Scorpius had to work hard not to gasp as he took in the room which reminded him of Borgin and Burkes, only everything in the room was spotless. But the room was so packed full of items that Scorpius instinctively curved his body around the baby so that the kid wouldn't brush up against any of the objects, most of which bore the crest of the Black family. Which probably meant that there were a lot of items in the room that were not for baby's curious hands, he thought as he let Albus slide past him to lead the way through the maze.

The tiny child's bed was in the back of the room, the elf that lay there looking so still and weathered that at first Scorpius thought the creature might have passed since the last time someone had been in to check on him.

But the house elf's bulbous eyes opened to half mast as they approached, opening fully when he saw who had come in with his current master's son. "Master Scorpius…Master Scorpius has come to see Kreacher?" The hope in the elf's eyes was almost heart wrenching.

"I did, Kreacher. It's nice to finally meet you." Working up a smile Scorpius felt pity when the elf struggled to sit up in its bed, giving him a slight bow which was probably the best the creature could manage. "And I brought with me someone for you to meet." Walking closer Scorpius crouched down so that the elf could see the infant in his arms. "This is Phoenix."

"A child of souls." The elf whispered in awe, recognizing the infant for what he was as he gazed into the baby's eyes. "You and Master Albus have birthed a child of souls. A Black has had a child of souls."

"Apparently we have." Albus told the elf, crouching down as well. "And Scorpius and I were thinking about maybe moving into a couple of rooms here with the baby until school starts. Would that be okay with you?"

"Kreacher would be honored." The elf whispered. "Kreacher would be most honored to serve the Black family once more."

)

As predicted the parents were not at all pleased with the boys for disappearing, but they settled down once they were in public, ignoring the looks they were getting from everyone around them. The two families knew it was only a matter of time before someone came over to try and find out what was going on, though none intended to spill the beans until after their extended families had been made aware of the situation.

After they'd all ordered their lunches and Phoenix was given Lily's teddy bear to hold while Albus held him, Ginny pulled out a rolled up piece of thick parchment, unrolling it carefully on the table. "Victoire gave me this for you two to fill out." She told the two boys. "Apparently, when Voldemort was in charge, they came up with these special birth certificates that required the parents to give their blood as well as the child's, to prove that the parents listed were in fact the child's biological parents. They haven't been used since the war but Victoire thought that it would probably be a good idea…to lend our interesting situation some validity. You two have to sign your names, then press a finger where there's an X. Apparently the parchment does the rest."

Taking the parchment from Albus's mother Scorpius accepted the inkwell and quill too, reading over the words inscribed on the birth certificate. "Are we giving him a middle name?" He asked, looking over at Albus questioningly.

"Isn't Phoenix Malfoy Potter long enough?" Albus pointed out with a grin.

"Why not Antares?" Astoria suggested. "I almost named you that, Scorpius."

"I remember that one." Albus gave Scorpius a questioning look. "Why didn't you suggest that last night?"

Scorpius's shrug was more of a jerk. "Because someone would shorten it to Ant and he'd be made fun of."

Opening his mouth to say that his son would be as popular as he was Albus remembered belatedly that while he was popular, Scorpius was not. Scorpius was decidedly not popular with the majority of the students of Hogwarts. The Malfoy was picked on plenty, even by his own house. And it was entirely possible that Phoenix would get some of the backlash too, for his Malfoy blood. Or he would until he'd kicked the shit out enough of them to get it across to everyone that his son was not to be hurt in anyway, Albus thought with dark intent.

Sensing where Albus's thoughts were Scorpius hurried to drop the subject. "Antares it is." And with elegant script Scorpius wrote out the name Phoenix Antares Malfoy Potter. Albus's mother had already written out the date and so he skipped that and went down to the bottom of the page. Reading the words written there Scorpius's lips twitched, putting aside the quill for a moment so that he could retrieve his wand and use it to change the wording. Neither of them was the baby's mother after all. Instead he altered it to say parent's signature for both, than picked up the quill and scrawled his signature on the left side. Then he pressed his finger to the X, not feeling a thing when it took a small sample of his blood.

Giving Phoenix over to Scorpius to hold Albus scrawled his signature on the right side of the document, pressing his finger to the X beside his name. Then, ever so carefully, he helped Scorpius convince the baby to let them press one of his little fingers to the X under the child's name.

The parchment glowed for a moment and then several seals appeared, confirming the validity of the bloodlines and the authenticity of their claim to the baby.

Albus lifted the parchment, made sure the ink was dry, and then rolled it back up to hand over to his mother. "I take it you've already started calling in the family to meet up tonight? We can give it to Victoire to file then."

Ginny nodded as she returned the document to her bag. "Pretty much everyone that's in the country is coming to our place for an impromptu alfresco dinner tonight. I figured it was best to tell everyone at once so that no one feels left out. I've already sent an owl to your brother, explaining what's happened."

"And Draco and I will be going to our respective parents after lunch to give them the news. We thought it best, especially where my in laws are concerned, to tell them without the baby or the boys present." Astoria added with a rueful look over the top of her water glass.

To say Draco was dreading telling his parents was a massive understatement. "And we still haven't decided about living arrangements for them." He pointed out, unable not to be pessimistic about the situation.

"We have a plan for that." Albus informed the rest, explaining to them his brainstorm.

Harry blinked in surprise. "I have no problem with you three living there, and I'd imagine Kreacher's thrilled with the idea, but do you two really want to live there? It's not exactly…a homey place."

Albus shrugged off the question, just glad that Scorpius's parents were looking thoughtful as opposed to against the idea. "We'll only be there for a month, Dad. At least that's the plan if you can help us talk the school into letting us take Phoenix to school with us."

"Which is not going to be easy to manage, even for you, Potter. And Hogwarts isn't exactly the ideal place to raise a baby." Draco pointed out, even as he silently acknowledged that the younger Potter really had come up with the ideal living quarters for the boys. Or as ideal as it could be given that his son would be living with a Potter.

Albus slugged his arm over Scorpius's shoulder. "We'll manage."

Scorpius turned his gaze to the baby, looking down so that no one saw the pleasure he took from the man's touch. But inside he was thrilled that the other man didn't seem the least bit upset that they were going to be stuck together for the foreseeable future. Of course he got a little lightheaded every time he thought about what that was going to be like, but for now he was just ridiculously happy that at the moment Albus liked him well enough not to be depressed about the whole thing.

)

After they had all had their lunch the Malfoys headed off to tell their parents about what had happened and the Potters and their daughter headed off to go shopping for food to feed the horde of relatives that would be descending upon them later. Scorpius and Albus had both been informed that they would be expected to help prepare for the family gathering later once they got back from the errand of visiting Scorpius's girl to tell her the news. They'd managed to sidestep the questions asked by the other diners at the restaurant but it was plainly obvious that the cat would be out of the bag in no time.

It was therefore necessary, according to Albus, for them to go see Gabrielle so that she wouldn't kill Scorpius and thus make him a single parent.

Nothing he said could convince the man otherwise so Scorpius just sighed and went along with the idea.

Albus, for his part, was very curious to meet the woman who would, possibly, be his son's step mother. And how weird was that? Not only did he have a son, but he had a son with another man who just happened to be Scorpius Malfoy. As for the possibly future step mother of his child, Albus didn't know anything about Gabrielle Goyle aside from the fact that her brothers were idiots, she didn't like him, and she liked Scorpius very much.

Well that and she was big.

Not in a fat, ugly sort of way, the Gryffindor silently amended as they approached the small house Scorpius was pointing to. But Scorpius's girl was about six feet tall without heels and had a compact but curvy body to go with it. That and now that he thought about it the Slytherin had a presence that reminded him of his Gran's. Just something about her that said she didn't take crap from anyone and was a bossy bit of goods when she had a notion to be. Not his type, but she'd probably get along with a number of his female cousins if it weren't for the fact that she didn't seem to like anyone but the man he was currently walking with.

Scorpius and Albus were in luck, the head of the Goyle household wasn't at home when they arrived. Mrs. Goyle let them in, shooting looks at Albus to suggest that she thought she was dreaming, to be showing a member of the Potter family into her home. But he was with Scorpius, and her daughter would never forgive her if she was less than hospitable to him.

She was ridiculously grateful though when they declined her offering of food and drink.

While they waited for the older woman to go and get Gabrielle the two took their seats, Albus taking a chair with Phoenix in his lap, Scorpius taking one of the couches so that he could talk to Gabrielle one on one. They'd both agreed before entering that that would be best.

It was with an expressive wince that Scorpius spotted the two men walking into the room.

Albus understood the wince as soon as he saw who the two men were. The Goyle twins had never caused him much trouble, but the same could not be said for his brother and cousin Fred. It had been two against two for the seven years the four of them had been at Hogwarts, sending each other to the Medical Wing or detention plenty of times. The Goyle brothers had not had his brother or cousin's intelligence, but they'd been cunning in their meanness.

The twins wore identical, malicious sneers as they surveyed the three unexpected guests. The baby they dismissed automatically, but they had a great love for needling their sister's girlie boyfriend, and an even greater love of making Potters miserable. And James Potter had most definitely gotten the best of them more times than they cared to count.

Both were so intent on their new prey that neither sensed the person coming up behind them.

"Well, well, if it isn't our sister's little Malfoy princess and a pesky Potter. Babysitting together? How cute." The one brother sneered.

"Don't they just make the cutest of couples?" The other one suggested with a smirk. "I wonder what Gabby will say when she finds out you've dumped her for a Potter, Insect."

Any other insults they might have hurled at Albus and Scorpius went unspoken as a hand came to wrap around the side of each of their heads, smashing their skulls together with a loud thud.

The two hollering their pain, they clutched their heads while Gabrielle Goyle moved to stand between the two, looking back and forth as she glared at them. "I told you not to call him Insect, Dumb and Dumber. And don't call me Gabby!"


	6. Family Bonds

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters will be finding themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's just the way it's gotta be. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy this new chapter and let me know what you think.

Family Bonds

Albus noted with interest that rather than pick a fight with their sister the Goyle twins backed off, cradling their heads as they stomped off without another word. Apparently they knew from past experience not to mess with the girl, Albus thought with a small, amused smile. Impressive. His brother and Fred would get a kick out of it when he told them next time he saw them.

Once her brothers were out of the room the Slytherin nodded in Albus's direction, but that was the only acknowledgement she made of his presence in her house. She was definitely not a fan of her rival for Scorpius's affection. And though she was curious about the baby, Gabrielle was far more concerned with finding out what the two were doing in her house with Scorpius. Taking a seat beside her best friend, Gabrielle focused all her attention on her fellow Slytherin, ignoring the Gryffindor completely.

While Albus watched in fascination Scorpius attempted to explain to her what had happened the day before, the girl sitting quietly through the explanation until Scorpius had reached the end of their bizarre tale thus far. Then the brunette laid into Scorpius for touching the egg with a verbal fierceness that had Albus goggling at her while Scorpius hunched his shoulders at the tongue lashing he was getting. Damn, she wasn't like his Gran, she was his Gran. And there was no question who was going to wear the pants in their relationship of Scorpius did marry the girl, Albus thought with a wry shake of his head.

He had to chuckle over it.

Blue eyes flashing dangerously Gabrielle looked over in Albus's direction. "And what exactly is so funny? There is nothing funny about this situation."

"Sorry. I was just thinking that if you do end up as Phoenix's step mother, you'll fit in with my family really well. You're just like my Gran."

Gabrielle didn't know Molly Weasley well enough to know if that was an insult or not. And his comment about her being the baby's step mother had most of her attention. Had…had Scorpius told Potter that she was going to be his wife? Looking over at Scorpius Gabrielle wasn't surprised to see that he was looking everywhere but at her. He tended to have that problem whenever the topic turned to their possible nuptials. She was used to it.

Eyes straying to the baby Gabrielle couldn't wish the child ill, but she definitely wasn't pleased that it had come into existence either. Because, Gabrielle thought with inner misery, providing Scorpius with a heir had always been the one thing she'd had to offer the man that she'd thought Potter never could. She would never be as good looking as Potter, or as charming, and she certainly would never be a man as was Scorpius romantic preference. And now the Gryffindor bastard had gone and done the one thing she'd never thought he could beat her at. He had given Scorpius a heir and son. But that was a Potter for you, always ruining things for her family, Gabrielle thought with another dark look in the Gryffindor's direction.

"He and I are going to live with the baby at the old Black place, then at Hogwarts if the Headmaster will let us." Scorpius said softly, drawing her attention back to him. The last thing he needed was for Albus to wonder just why Gabrielle would bear him more ill will than the rest of the Gryffindor's sizable family. "I know you're gone the last two weeks of this month on holidays, Elle. I just wanted to let you know what was happening before you left."

Talk about a ruined holiday, Gabrielle thought as she stiffly acknowledged that those were the plans. There was no way she was going to enjoy her vacation now, knowing that while she was in France Scorpius was playing house with Potter. Not that Potter had ever shown the slightest interest in men, much less Scorpius, but the way her luck was running….

Life was so unfair to Slytherins.

"Have a nice trip." Albus said, having no idea that he was adding insult to the injury.

"I'll bring the baby back something nice." Was her half sarcastic reply.

Intrigued by her attitude Albus got to his feet and walked over, forcing himself to hold the baby out to her. "Would you like to hold him?" He wanted to see how she treated the baby. He might as well know now if he had to worry about leaving the baby in her company, Albus thought, hoping that she would be alright with the baby. Things were weird enough between him and Scorpius without them fighting over Gabrielle being let near Phoenix.

Surprised at the offer Gabrielle reluctantly took the baby from the Gryffindor, a smile crossing her lips as she got a good look at the baby. "He's going to have your dandelion hair." She told Scorpius, charmed despite herself as she smiled at the baby. He really was fairly adorable, the best of the Potter and Malfoy genes. That figured.

"His dandelion hair?" Albus repeated, giving her a questioning look.

"When he was little Scorpius's hair always stuck out all over the place like a dandelion's head." Gabrielle answered, stroking the baby's downy head gently with one finger. "You've just never seen it un-styled."

"I saw it this morning when I woke up before he did." Albus informed her with a grin, amused by the blush that colored Scorpius's cheekbones at his statement. "But I thought it looked more like he'd been electrocuted."

Seeing the way Scorpius was blushing Gabrielle didn't know who she pitied more now. Herself for losing out to Potter once again or Scorpius, who's crush was going to be found out very soon if the situation didn't change and separate them.

Merlin help them all.

)

Charged with looking after Phoenix once they got back from Gabrielle's, Scorpius watched as the Potter household prepare for the arrival of their extended family. Albus's grandparents came over to help and were introduced to Phoenix. Scorpius's babysitting duties ending then and there as Molly Weasley commandeered her new great grandson and refused to give him back. Giving him back to a Malfoy was a definite no. And since neither Albus nor Scorpius could stand to be away from the baby for long they were both given kitchen duties so that the family's matriarch could help with the food preparation and fuss over Phoenix at the same time.

When the general prep was done and the family guests were due to arrive soon, the new parents and their son were sent upstairs for the time being. Lily would be sent to get them when everyone had arrived, so that explanations would only have to be made once. And so they waited in Albus's room, the two trying to get Phoenix to let them change him into a new outfit since he'd gotten some sort of sauce on the one he was wearing.

The baby was not in the mood to cooperate.

"Come on, little guy, don't be difficult, okay?" Albus struggled to get the baby's arms into the correct holes.

"Our son sure can squirm." Scorpius noted with a small smile, sitting cross legged as he watched. Thus far Albus had assured him that he didn't need his help.

"Our son." Albus repeated, the truth of those words finally hitting him like a ton of bricks. "We have a son. Together."

While Scorpius watched with growing horror Albus began to hyperventilate, gasping for breath while Phoenix stared at his parent in fascination. Reaching out Scorpius gently moved the baby off to the side and than scooted closer so that he could place his hands on the Gryffindor's shoulders, shaking them lightly. "Potter? Albus? Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Albus gasped out, staring at Scorpius without really seeing him. "What's wrong is that we're parents. We are parents. To a baby. And he's our responsibility. What if we screw up? What if we turn our backs and he eats a deadly herb or falls down a flight of stairs? Do you know how many stairs there are in Hogwarts? Do you? And how are we going to be good parents when we're still kids ourselves? How can we not screw this up? We are so going to screw this up."

"We are not going to screw this up."

The matter of fact answer shocked Albus out of his freak out. "How can you be so sure?"

Scorpius kept his voice low and soothing. "Because like all parents we're going to screw up a little…but we'll do our best, learn from our mistakes, and raise him right. And if we don't, well then he'll grow up extra fast and we'll have a teenager to deal with before we're twenty."

Albus stared at the man dumbly. "And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"Huh. That is depressing, isn't it?" Scorpius looked over at the baby with trepidation. "Let's do our best to put off his teenage years for as long as possible, shall we?"

"That's something we can agree on." Albus's gaze turned rueful as he met Scorpius's gaze. "Thanks, sorry to freak out on you. It just sorta sunk in, you know, that you and I are going to have to figure out how to raise a kid together. I don't really know you, but we…we have a kid together. It's just…frazzling." His gaze turning thoughtful, Albus tilted his head to the side with a questioning look. "Why are you handling this so well? Or should I start carrying around a paper bag for you to hyperventilate in when reality hits?"

A small smile crossed the Slytherin's lips. "I think I'll be fine. I'm a roll with the punches sort of person. It takes a lot to make me freak out." Unless they were talking about Albus, Scorpius silently amended. He mentally freaked out over the other man a lot. On a regular basis. Maybe that was why he was handling the baby thing so well, he mused. His brain was so Albus overloaded that having a baby at seventeen didn't seem like such a big deal in comparison. But at the same time he had to help take care of the baby, which distracted him from turning into a blushing, stuttering moron around the other man.

Funny how that worked.

"Well you're a better man than I." Reaching out Albus patted the man in solidarity on the shoulder.

Scorpius had to laugh at that. "You do realize that pretty much everyone in the Wizarding World would disagree with that statement."

Albus had to acknowledge the Slytherin had a point. But still… "Pretty much everyone in the Wizarding World doesn't know you. They just think they do. I think they're all going to be pleasantly surprised once they see what a good mum you make."

"Mum?" Scorpius repeated, his right eyebrow arching expressively.

"Well one of us has to be the mum." Albus pointed out, his grin wide and genuine now as he teased. "And you have more mum qualities than me. Therefore, you're the mum and I'm the dad."

Crossing his arms in front of him, Scorpius actually looked somewhat like a Slytherin for once. His grey eyes were certainly stormy as he demanded to know exactly what qualities he possessed that made him the girl in their partnership. He might have been gay, but not only did Potter not know that, but that did not make him a girl either. And he seriously objected to his crush thinking less of him.

"Relax, I'm not making fun of you." Albus assured the Slytherin, even as he fought back the urge to laugh at the other man's expression. Scorpius Malfoy was a rather adorable sight to see when he was angry/pouting. "It's just that you're smaller in height, and in weight. And you'll be the one to lecture him about manners and stuff while I'm teaching him the finer points of Quidditch and how to make a spitball. The mum stuff is going to fall more on you than me, that's all."

"First of all, there's less than an inch difference in our heights, and as for weight, being slimmer than you doesn't automatically make me a girl. Your grandmother is wider than your grandfather; women generally are in the hips. Your hips are bigger than mine which makes you more a girl than I where it counts. And for the record I can do guy stuff with him too, you know. Just because I don't play Quidditch doesn't mean I don't understand the finer points too." Thanks to obsession with Albus, he actually knew far more about the sport than he wanted to, Scorpius thought wryly. "We can just teach him to call us two different versions of father. He'll have plenty of female relatives to fill in the mother gap."

"I guess that would work too." Albus admitted, even as he thought to himself that it would be funny to encourage Phoenix to call the other man Mum behind the Slytherin's back.

)

Lily came with much grinning, obviously looking forward to everyone's reactions when the bomb was dropped. "I'll take him." She announced when they'd reached the kitchen door that would lead out to the gathering. "That way Albus will have his hands free if they try to ambush you, Scorpius."

Albus's gaze said plainly that he didn't appreciate her little add on. But still, it was probably best for Scorpius to be holding the baby. "They are not going to ambush him." Albus told his sister, giving the baby to the Slytherin, just in case.

Taking the baby Scorpius didn't know whether to be thankful that Albus had given him the baby to take his mind off the situation or insulted that the man would actually think he'd use the baby as a shield. The only one who would be acting as a shield would be him, if the Gryffindor's family started something with him while he was holding Phoenix.

Both men taking deep breaths just in case, they walked through the kitchen door Lily held open for them and stepped into the fray.

Everywhere they looked there were Potters, Weasleys and Tonks'. And slowly but surely all eyes turned to watch and stare at the sight of a Malfoy in their midst, everyone going silent as they waited for some sort of explanation. They'd been told to come to hear an important family announcement. What did a Malfoy have to do with the announcement and what was with the baby?

As previously planned Albus cleared his throat and prayed for the words to come. "Hey, everyone. Uhm…due to an unexpected incident at Borgin and Burkes, there are now two new additions to our family. The first is the baby, whose name is Phoenix. Phoenix Antares Malfoy Potter. My son. And Scorpius's son. Our son. Which makes Scorpius a part of the family now too by the way. So ya…be nice to him."

At Albus's side Scorpius stared over at the Gryffindor in shock. Family? He was a part of Albus's WHOLE family now? His grandfather would die at the news just so that he could roll in his grave afterwards.

"Albus forgot some of the important details." Victoire piped up as she moved to the front of the crowd, wanting it known that she'd been in the loop before everyone else. Quickly she told the stunned crowd all that they had learned earlier about Phoenix, telling them about the baby's abilities and how rare Soul Eggs were. "So it is very important to have a positive attitude around the baby." She couldn't quite bring herself to demand that they be nice to Scorpius as well. He was Draco Malfoy's son after all. Telling them the baby needed a positive attitude was as kind as she could get at the moment.

"First we had Blacks, then Veelas, and now Malfoys." George drawled out, breaking the new silence that followed Victoire's words. "We're getting to be quite a diverse menagerie."

"You forgot giants too." Harry called out, patting the back of Hagrid, who they'd run into at Diagon Alley while shopping.

"And I've heard of them Soul Eggs." Hagrid told the crowd, eager to get a look at the wee little one. "They're right rare, they are. And almost never are they born to humans. He'll bring your whole family luck, Harry." Hagrid stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Wonder how it got into a dark wizard's store though. Odd that."

While family moved to crowd in on the boys to get a look at the baby, Harry hung back to speculate with his friend. "I've been thinking about that and I've come up with a working theory. I thought perhaps a dark wizard or which got ahold of the egg and when he or she failed to hatch it the egg ended up being sold to the shop by their relatives or by accident. Or perhaps the person that found it just knew that it had magical properties and whoever bought it for the store got talked into taking it."

"But why would a dark witch or wizard want the egg?"

"Because the child can apparently make people love him." Was Harry's simple response to the question. "Some would see that as a weapon to be used. How much easier would it be, after all, to enlist supporters by making them fall in love with you and your group. Love binds deeper and truer than fear ever will."

Hagrid frowned. "It wouldn't work that way though. The Soul Egg would nah allow itself to be used like that. They be creatures of good, incapable of doing dark work."

"There are some who wouldn't get that concept."

"And ain't that the sorry truth." Hagrid clasped the younger man on the back. "But enough of that, I think it's time you introduced me to your new wee one, Grandpa."

Harry's laugh was full of baffled amusement. "Now that's going to take some getting used to."


	7. Bonds Are Starting

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters will be finding themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's just the way it's gotta be. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy this new chapter and let me know what you think.

Merry Christmas To You All

Bonds Are Starting

Both Scorpius and Albus were forced to let the baby be passed around and cooed over, everyone who held the infant finding him to be the cutest thing ever. Albus decided to make the most out on them having a babysitter and moved to hang out with his cousins, letting the twinges he felt dictate how far he could be away from the baby.

It was almost time for the food to be brought out when Albus happened to catch sight of his co parent sitting on the back door steps, watching everything from there with a cup of something in his hand. Walking over to the blonde Albus looked down at the Slytherin with a questioning look. "What are you doing over here by yourself?"

Scorpius thought the answer was obvious, but apparently that wasn't the case. "Where should I be?"

"Uhm…having fun and enjoying the party?" Albus responded, thinking the answer obvious as well.

"This is a Potter/Weasley party." Was Scorpius quiet response as he watched understanding slowly begin to dawn on the other man's face. "And even if it wasn't I would still be here. Guys like me do not party with people like your family."

"You mean Slytherins? Because if that's what you mean I'd like to point out that Andromeda is a Slytherin, even if you guys seemed determined to forget that fact. Make her angry and you'll see how Slytherin she can be."

The Slytherin shook his head. "I mean that you're all at the top of the social ladder and I'm at the bottom. Even if I weren't a Slytherin, I'd still be a misfit and outcast. There's a reason Gabrielle is the only person I talk to at school." The small smile that crossed the blonde's lips was not a happy one. "I'm only here because of Phoenix. If not for him you and your family would happily go back to ignoring my existence." And realizing how pathetic that sounded Scorpius worked hard to make his smile more positive. "Go back with your family. I'm actually quite happy to be by myself. I'll keep an eye on Phoenix."

"We don't ignore your existence." Albus protested, even as a little voice in his head told him that he was sorta lying to the other man.

"You only knew my name before this because my last name is Malfoy." Scorpius countered. "If I hadn't been born into that family you probably wouldn't even remember that we're in the same class together."

Insulted, Albus scowled at the other man. "You're making me sound like some stuck up git who only hangs out with the popular students. We hang out with everyone, we aren't snobs."

"There's a difference between ignoring someone out of habit and doing it on purpose." Was Scorpius's calm response as he forced himself to continue to meet the man's gaze squarely. "And arguing about this won't get us anywhere. We have to live together for the foreseeable future after all." That and arguing with the person he liked most in the world made his stomach hurt. And the situation he was in was hurting bad enough, now that this get together had reinforced so perfectly how he didn't belong at the Gryffindor's side even with the baby.

"Oh we are going to argue about this if you're going to sit there and talk like that to me." Albus shot back, and was about to launch into an argument in his defense when the sound of a baby crying reached their ears. Instinctively they both recognized it as their son's, Scorpius getting to his feet to move towards Rosie, who was bringing the baby over to them.

Scorpius got there first, taking the baby from her while Albus moved to stand beside him, both talking to the crying infant who continued to fuss in the Slytherin's arms.

"He was fine until about a minute ago, then he just scrunched up his face and started whimpering, then crying. I don't know what could be wrong with him since he doesn't need food or changing." Rosie informed them, staring down at the baby nervously. "You don't think he was stung or bitten by an insect when I wasn't looking."

"Why IS he crying? We're both here." Albus added with concern. After all, if there was something wrong with the baby there was no guarantee that Victoire would be able to fix it given that Phoenix was no ordinary baby.

"We were fighting." Scorpius pointed out quietly, sure in his gut that that was it. "He knew we were fighting somehow and reacted."

Realizing what the man meant and recalling the healers words, Albus moved automatically to stand in front of the Slytherin, wrapping his arms around the blonde's slim waist so that they were pressed up against each other with the whimpering baby between them. "There, there, Phoenix. It's okay now, baby, it's okay. We're not fighting, we're not mad. It's okay now. We're a family and we're going to stay that way. There's no reason for you to be scared, promise. Your dads love you very, very much."

The baby looked up and studied Albus's face, as if he really could tell whether the man was lying to him or not. Then Phoenix looked up at Scorpius and studied the man too, the whimpers dying off as the baby's expression became thoughtful.

"I think he believes you." His lashes lowered to hide his eyes from view, Scorpius kept his head bowed and simply enjoy the feeling of completely and utter unity. It was like Phoenix was the puzzle piece between him and the Gryffindor, fitting perfectly with each of them so that their three pieces came together seamlessly.

"Well you three certainly look like a family." Rosie told them, not entirely sure that either one heard her. They were so wrapped up in the baby and their bond that she wouldn't be surprised if they'd forgotten she was standing there. She was in shock a little herself, over the sight of her cousin with his arms wrapped about the son of Draco Malfoy. More, how natural it looked for him to be doing so.

Where was her camera when she needed it?

Coming up beside her Roxanne revealed she'd been thinking the same thing and just happened to have the camera needed for the job. Taking the picture Roxanne grinned at Rosie when they both saw that the two men hadn't noticed the flash or attention they were getting. "I can't wait to see their faces when I develop that and show them." The older girl murmured to her cousin as she slung an arm over Rosie's shoulder.

Rosie smiled, though for a different reason. "It will make a nice picture in their first family album."

)

Running a towel over his wet hair Albus walked down the hallway towards his bedroom. Opening the door his eyes went to the bed set up on the floor, a smile teasing his lips at the sight of Scorpius lying there with a book in one hand, the other lying on top of Phoenix's back, the baby fast asleep after a busy, busy day. The Slytherin was absorbed in his book, Albus mused. The other man didn't even look up as the door was closed. Or he was being ignored.

Walking over Albus took a seat beside the man's bed, continuing to dry his hair as he read the title off the book's cover. "A parenting book?"

"Your grandmother gave it to me to read." Scorpius answered, keeping his face buried in the book so that he wouldn't be tempted to get the man soaking wet all over again with his drool. The brief glance he'd permitted himself had shown that the man was topless, not something he could look at if he wanted to keep his crush a secret. Especially with water droplets still clinging and sliding down the man's tanned skin, Scorpius thought with a mental groan.

"I see." Wrapping the towel around his neck Albus thought about asking the man to put down the book and then decided not to push that. He didn't want to start another argument after all, especially with Phoenix right there. "I'm sorry for getting mad at you earlier. You're…entitled to your opinions. But I have always known you were there. Just because we don't talk at school doesn't mean I'm ignoring you. Slytherins and Gryffindors don't hang out, it's always been that way."

"And do you Gryffindors ever stop to wonder that maybe, by thinking the worst of us all the time, you only encourage Slytherins to live up to your low expectations of us? That stereotyping people only ever makes things worse, not better between our houses."

Albus was silent for a moment. "Wow. You don't open your mouth for the six years I've known you, and now suddenly you do and you're a philosopher."

Scorpius's cheeks flushed, not sure if the Gryffindor meant that as a compliment or not.

Gaze turning towards their son while he contemplated the valid point the Slytherin had just made, Albus studied the sleeping enfant resting so comfortably on the other man's chest. "Do you think he'll have your eyes or mine?" Albus asked as he reached out to stroke the baby's downy head. "He has your hair after all."

"The shape is yours."

Albus raised an eyebrow at that. "The shape is mine?" The baby's eyes looked like all babies eyes to him.

Scorpius forced himself to put the box down, but turned his gaze to Phoenix. "Babies more strongly resemble their fathers than their mothers when they're young. It's nature's way of proving the baby's parentage to the man, to encourage him to claim and provide for the child. Since you're convinced that I'm the mother in this family that means he's got to start looking more like you soon."

"Yeah? I didn't know that. Either way he's going to be a good looking kid."

Lips curving in silent agreement Scorpius looked up for a moment, his breath catching in his throat at the look in the other man's eyes as the Gryffindor stared down at the child they shared. The look in those emerald green eyes, the love in those eyes, had Scorpius's heart turning over in his chest with the loveliest of thuds. It wasn't even that he wished that the love was for him, though that would certainly be icing on the cake. No, it was seeing how completely devoted the man was to their son already that had the Slytherin thinking he couldn't have picked a better man to go through this with then Albus Severus Potter.

Feeling the other man's gaze on him Albus's eyes flickered up, meeting the Slytherin's with a strange jolt of connection. He'd always seen the man's eyes as washed out, just one more pale feature of the other man pale persona. But they weren't washed out or pale, they were actually rather beautiful, Albus realized as he stared into the soft grey depths. Like fog really, beguiling and mysterious. They were definitely the man's best feature.

"Something wrong?" Scorpius forced himself to ask, not sure what to make of the look in the Gryffindor's eyes.

"No. I was just thinking that I wouldn't mind it, if he had your eyes too." And unsettled by the feeling he was getting as he continued to look into the other man's eyes Albus broke their eye contact, jokingly trying to lighten the mood. "So long as he has my tan, that's all I ask. I'm going to have to get you two outdoors soon." Teasingly Albus reached out to poke one of the man's pale arms.

Well aware of how pale he was in comparison to Albus Scorpius was more amused than offended by the man's comment. "If you like."

"It's settled then." Reaching down Albus gently picked up his son from Scorpius's chest. "Now we should both be getting to bed. Tomorrow we've got to look over the house and see what furniture and stuff we need to get a hold of in order to make the place habitable again." Getting to his feet with the smooth grace of an athlete Albus smiled down at the Slytherin. "Sweet dreams, Scorpius."

"Sweet dreams." Scorpius returned, knowing his would be as he watched the man walk over to the cradle to settle Phoenix in for the night.

)

The next day came with the surprise of Phoenix sitting up in his bed by himself unsupported, having visibly grown so that he now looked closer to five months old. The baby's eyes were now a bright emerald green too. Warning received loud and clear Albus and Scorpius were both determined to find a way to coexist peacefully. They were both so not ready to raise a teenager and neither liked the idea that their son was worried he'd abandon him.

So it was time to hunt up new clothes for the baby and after something appropriate was found in the Potter attic and breakfast was eaten the Potter family and Scorpius headed off to Grimmauld Place to meet the Malfoys and discuss what needed to be acquired before the boys could move in.

The Malfoys were waiting for them when they arrived, Scorpius's mother immediately noticing how much bigger her grandson was than the last time she'd seen him. Both Scorpius and Albus got looks from her that indicated she did not like seeing this one little bit as she commandeered the baby from them, cradling Phoenix against her chest while the house was revealed to them. She'd heard about the place of course, but this was her first time seeing the Black homestead.

It was the first time Draco had seen it as well, and he worked hard to hide his interest as the house unfolded itself from the surrounding houses. His parents had not taken the news about their new heir well, but he'd seen the interest in his mother's eyes when they'd told her that the boys intended to take up residence in the ancestral Black home.

When the house was ready to be entered everyone was surprised when the door opened to reveal an elf dressed in overalls with the logo for a popular cleaning company on the front pocket. "Good day to you, Potters and Malfoys." The house elf squeaked as she bowed to the two families before looking up to searchingly, obviously looking for someone. Spotting that someone in Mrs. Malfoy's arms the elf's ears perked up as a look of wonder came into her large eyes. "Just as Kreacher said. You have a child of souls, you do. May Tomo see him please? May Tomo?"

"You may, Tomo." Harry told the elf, subtly telling Astoria that she was to let the elf have a chance to see the baby. "But what are you doing here? You aren't scheduled to come in until tomorrow."

"Tomo got a message from Kreacher, Master Potter. Kreacher told Tomo that Master Albus was going to be living here with the Malfoy heir and a baby. A child of souls baby. Tomo came right away to make sure everything was ready for them, Sir. Kreacher asked Tomo to do it and he never asks Tomo for help with the house. Tomo knew he must be telling the truth about the child, to be asking her for help."

The Potters surprise at the house elf's words was written all over their faces. Kreacher hated having the other elf in his house and only let her in for fear of the house becoming more run down then it already was. The old elf must really want the baby to stay, if he was willing to even speak to Tomo.

Walking anxiously over towards Scorpius's mother Tomo looked up at the witch warily, obviously not sure of the treatment she would receive. But the woman graciously crouched down so that the elf could get a look at the baby, Tomo carefully reaching out to touch one finger to the baby's plump cheek before pulling her hand away, like the baby was fine china she feared breaking. Looking up to meet the woman's eyes Tomo bowed respectfully. "Thank you for letting Tomo see the baby."

Astoria nodded her head. "I hope you'll take good care of my son and grandson while they're here."

Tomo nodded solemnly. "Tomo will. Tomo will take good care of them both. On Tomo's life and honor as an elf."

Leading the way the elf led them all on a tour of the main rooms she'd thought they'd be using. The kitchen and one of the parlors were spotless, looking homey and welcoming, which was in sharp contrast to the lifelessness of the other closed off rooms they passed. Bypassing the second floor completely Tomo took them straight to the master suite, proudly showing off how she'd transported another bed into the room so that there was one on either side with the Black family cradle in the middle.

The beds had been made up, one with the Slytherin colors and the other with the red and gold of Gryffindor. The head of the cradle had the Black family crest carved into it, the constellations accurately and finely depicted all around the base. The mobile was stars as well in various metals, shining in the morning sun as they magically moved around the cradle.

"Tomo did good?" The house elf asked anxiously, wringing her hands as she looked at the two families nervously.

"Tomo did excellent." Lily informed the elf, patting the creature on her bald head. "They're just overcome with awe at how much time and effort you put into this."

Actually, they were all stunned speechless at the obvious message that the two boys were going to have to share a room together for a lot longer than a couple of nights, but they were just too busy reeling from that fact to contradict the girl.


	8. Reading Into The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters will be finding themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's just the way it's gotta be. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy this new chapter and let me know what you think.

Note: For those who read it before I modified it, I meant to say that Phoenix had aged to look five months, not two. I corrected it but wanted to give a heads up to those who read it early.

Reading Into The Bond

The two boys looked at each other while their parents walked around the bedroom, the stunned teens forgetting everyone else was in the room as they silently communicated their shock over the situation they found themselves in. They'd handled a couple nights together, but neither had thought seriously about having to share a room permanently.

"I guess it's sort of necessary…especially since we'll have to room with each other at Hogwarts anyway." Albus said slowly, trying to wrap his mind around the new situation they found themselves in. Their future living arrangements at Hogwarts had indicated this was coming, but that had seemed so far off. Now it wasn't far off at all. It had already started without their knowledge.

And here he'd thought he'd have a month to work up the reserve to handle sharing a room with the other man at Hogwarts. He should have known fate wouldn't be so kind, Scorpius thought miserably, wanting to bash his head into a wall. Of course when the Gryffindor figured out how he felt about him Albus would definitely insist their roommate situation end ASAP. The man wouldn't be able to get away from him fast enough, Scorpius thought grimly.

"At least you get to sleep in a real bed now, Scorpius." Lily pointed out helpfully, patting the Slytherin on the shoulder. "And Phoenix really seems to like the cradle."

Phoenix was indeed sitting in his cradle now, his chubby hands lifted up in the air as he sat up and tried to reach the stars twirling around his downy blonde head. There was a big smile on the baby's face, lighting up the infant's face beautifully.

The two boys smiling in reaction to their son's enjoyment of his new bed, they were both startled when their eyes met and they suddenly remembered the situation they were in.

Doing his best to hide his feelings Scorpius shrugged his shoulders in what he hoped looked like rueful acceptance of the situation. There was no time like the present to pretend he was okay with their new sleeping arrangements. "I guess we have three weeks to figure out how to live together before Hogwarts."

"It's going to take our parents a lot longer then that to figure out how to get along." Albus added, keeping his voice down so that only Scorpius and Lily could hear him as he motioned to the parents with a slight cocking of his head.

Lily looked over at the two sets of parents and had to agree.

)

Leaving his parents to duke things out with Albus's parents hours later, Scorpius went in search of his son and roommate since Albus had wisely vacated the room already. Coming into the main parlor Scorpius found Albus lying on the floor on his stomach, Phoenix sitting beside him while Albus read from a storybook. Walking over to stand on Phoenix's other side Scorpius sat down and stretched out on his stomach as well, propping his head up on one elbow. "What are you reading to him?"

"Kretcher gave this to me to read to Phoenix. I promised him I would. Apparently this is what the Black children were read every night before bed. I'm editing it. A lot. You weren't read 'The Bad Little House Elf' when you were a kid, were you?"

"I was…unfortunately." Scorpius looked at the book warily, trying not to think of the nightmares some of his bedtime stories had inspired. In fact, the book cover looked distressingly familiar. "If that has one called 'The Lowest of Life Forms', skip it. You can't edit that one enough."

A strange look came over Albus's face. "Kretcher asked me to read that one to him especially."

Scorpius shook his head. "Don't."

"O-kay." Making a mental note to check the story out later Albus went back to reading the story about a wizard who was on a quest for a magical object to their son, editing out the results of the rather horrific spells the wizard used to defeat his enemies and the fact that all said enemies were Muggles or magical creatures.

Recognizing the story as 'The Pureblooded Prophecy', Scorpius had to give the man credit for turning the story into something that was actually child friendly. The Gryffindor had a gift. When the story had drawn to a close again Scorpius spoke. "Our parents are still arguing in the dining room. They've moved from my mother arguing about her only grandson wearing hand me downs to setting up a vault in Phoenix's name. Your parents think he's too young to need one but my mother says that the way he's growing he could need one sooner rather than later, and that you and I need to have a shared account anyway to pay for stuff."

"Your mother is really hung up on the hand me downs, isn't she?" Shaking his head Albus couldn't help but smile at the thought of what Astoria Malfoy would say if she knew that Weasleys made a habit of sharing clothes amongst their children until the clothing was unusable. The footsie pajamas Phoenix was wearing at the moment had belonged at one time to Fred, Lucy, James, himself, Lily, and probably others he didn't know about.

He'd wisely not mentioned that fact to Mrs. Malfoy.

Scorpius shrugged, having wisely stayed out of the argument once their mothers had gotten going on the subject. "She doesn't seem to grasp the fact that he'll grow out of everything so fast that buying him new clothes would be a pointless waste of money."

"I don't think it will be that bad. Him growing I mean."

The Gryffindor was being overly optimistic in Scorpius's point of view. "He's going to keep growing if he ages every time we argue, Albus. We're going to argue. It's unavoidable. Even happily married couples argue and you and I…are not happily married." The Slytherin finished dumbly, his pale cheeks flushing with color.

"We are headed for divorce any day now." Albus agreed solemnly with a dramatic, drawn out sigh. "Sleeping in separate beds, fighting over money, and I can't remember the last time we got naked together. Yup, our marriage is doomed."

Scorpius could literally feel himself turning as red as a cooked lobster. Possibly from head to toe, he thought in some mortified corner of his mind.

"Huh, I can still make you blush. Maybe there's hope for us yet." Laughing Albus reached out and ruffled the blonde's hair, delighted by the Slytherin's reaction.

Giggling in amusement, Phoenix clapped his hands too.

"That's an interesting look for a Malfoy." Walking over Lily sat cross legged on the ground in front of the boys, having gotten bored watching their parents argue. "Do you think it's humanly possible for a person to get any redder than you are right now?"

"Don't be teasing the mother of my child." Albus warningly teased his sister.

Dropping his face into his hands Scorpius groaned. "Potters."

)

When the parents went in search of their children and grandchild they found Albus once again reading from the storybook while the other three listened. Smiling, Ginny retrieved her camera from her bag and cleared her throat to get their attention. "Sorry to interrupt, you guys, but we're heading out for the night and I wanted to get a picture of the two of you with Phoenix before I left. We'll need one for the story I'm going to write for the Prophet. I figure the sooner everyone knows about this the better."

"I can't wait to watch Naomi beg you for forgiveness." Lily told her brother as she moved out of the shot. She liked her brother's ex girlfriend well enough, but the girl was just a little too perfect for her tastes. Not to mention the girl color coordinated everything she wore which was just plain scary in Lily's book.

Albus gave his sister a dark look. "You're not being fair. You would have reacted the same way, Lily."

"I would not." Lily rolled her eyes at her brother's ignorance. "If my steady boyfriend had come to visit me and insinuated that he'd gotten some girl knocked up they would never find his body. They would never find pieces of his body. They would find no record of him having ever existed when I was done with him." A definitely evil gleam came into the girl's eyes. "My father is Harry Potter. I would so get away with it."

Silence greeted that statement for a very long, poignant pause.

"And you named your middle son after the Death Eater?" Draco drawled out, finally breaking the silence.

Harry shrugged, sharing a look of complete understanding with his former nemesis. "Yeah…Severus didn't work for a girl."

"Harry." Ginny's tone of voice said it all. "Now boys, smile for the camera. That means you too, Phoenix. Show everyone how we have the most adorable grandson to ever live."

As if he understand what he was being asked to do Phoenix waved both hands at his grandmother, his fathers propping themselves up on their elbows, looking down at their son with wide grins on their faces, totally enamored with the adorableness of their child.

Snapping the picture Ginny's grin was as wide as theirs, happy tears shining in her eyes as she went all gooey and sentimental. "Now that's going to be a photo that will need to be framed." She told them with a sigh.

"I want a copy too." Astoria sniffled, dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief. "They look so beautiful together."

"Multiple copies." Ginny agreed as she put the camera away.

Putting away her handkerchief Astoria walked over to her son, who got up and wisely grabbed Phoenix as well so that she could hug the both of them. He wasn't at all surprised when she told him she was going shopping for Phoenix the next day, and simple told her he looked forward to seeing what she got for him.

Smiling too Albus got up to hug his parents and sister as well, sorry to see them go. It felt so weird to know he was sorta moving out of their house and into his own. Most of his stuff was still at home, but he had left Grimmauld Place briefly to get a few changes of clothes, and he'd be going back to get the rest of it before the week was over. Scorpius had done the same.

This was literally his first house as a man.

It was scary as hell, while being strangely exhilarating. How he'd fare once their parents left was anyone's guess. And if he freaked out and Scorpius didn't then he really was going to be the girl in this relationship and that was so going to destroy his ego, Albus thought ruefully. The blonde still blushed for Merlin's sake. Which was admittedly slightly adorable, but something the poor guy needed to work on if he ever hoped to be treated like the man he was.

They'd have to work on that.

)

Once the adults and Lily were out the door Albus and Scorpius stood in the doorway with their son, knowing that with the exception of Kretcher they were on their own. With Phoenix and no one to fall back on but each other. Unless they wanted to go crying to their parents for help, and they both really, really didn't want to do that.

Taking a long, calming breath, Albus looked over at Scorpius, Phoenix in his arms. "So…uhm…what time is it?"

Scorpius pulled out his pocket watch and checked the time. "It's almost four o'clock. When did that house elf say to put the casserole in the oven?"

"Tomo wrote it down somewhere. I think it was like a half an hour before we want to eat." Albus's brows furrowed in thought while Scorpius closed their front door. "We're going to be eating a lot of casseroles and sandwiches by the way. Terrible, unspeakable things happen when I attempt to cook. And with a child in the house it would probably be best if I didn't give it another try. Wait…can you cook?" A hopefully look came into Albus's eyes.

A startled look crossed the Slytherin's face. "Can I…uhm…I've never tried."

"Well you're good at potions, so you probably wouldn't be as bad as me at least." Albus pointed out with a considering look. "And if you can't cook then we really are going to be living on casseroles and sandwiches for the rest of the month. Which sorta works, since the one will make us gain a lot of weight while the other will make us lose it. It will balance things out. Or it will until Phoenix learns to walk, and we spend every one of his waking moments chasing after him and trying to make sure that whatever he puts in his mouth is safe to eat. Then we will definitely lose weight regardless of what we're eating."

"So we want to put off him walking?" Scorpius asked weakly, since he knew that the Gryffindor knew a million times more about kids then he did.

Albus sighed. "It's going to happen sooner or later. If I was a super human being I'd want to be able to walk as soon as possible too."

"And since he's your son he's genetically imprinted to be overactive." Scorpius added knowingly, not looking forward to those days.

He couldn't argue with that. It would be cosmic payback if his kid ran him as ragged as he'd run his own parents. He had a feeling his parents were sort of looking forward to Phoenix reaching that stage, Albus thought as they headed to the kitchen to check the instructions Tomo had left for them on the counter.

After consulting with the instructions the two boys realized they still had at least an hour to kill before they could possibly be hungry enough to eat. And neither knew what they were supposed to do with themselves. They both knew how they would have normally spent their time, but they didn't have their stuff around them.

Not to mention they both sorta knew they should be making some effort to spend time together.

Albus couldn't begin to guess at what they might have in common. Scorpius couldn't see any time spent together not ending with him as a blushing, stuttering mess.

"So…what would you be doing if you weren't here?" Albus asked, hoping for some clue as to what the other man might be interested in doing.

Scorpius mentally reviewed all of his solitary activities, doubting very much that any of his preferred pastimes would remotely interest the Gryffindor. He doubted Albus picked up books during the summer unless it was a comic book or about Quidditch. Then there was the countless hours he spent daydreaming and fantasizing about Albus, definitely not something he could share with the other man either. He enjoyed music, but couldn't see Albus's tastes in that area leaning towards the classical.

Getting the impression that the blonde's head would explode before Scorpius could come up with something he felt comfortable confessing to, Albus had to take a couple moments to wonder if that fact should make him very, very nervous about living with the guy for the foreseeable future. But since he was fairly sure he could take the Slytherin in any situation Albus decided to chalk the man's hesitation up to what was probably a very boring life ruled by his parents or his sorta girlfriend.

And since he really didn't want Scorpius's head to explode in front of him and Phoenix Albus thought it wise to simply suggest an activity. "Do you know how to play Wizards Chess?"

Scorpius nodded.

"Okay. Good. I'll find a board and the pieces."

)

And so the two young men played chess for a couple hours, actually losing track of the time as they competed against the other while Phoenix chewed on his aunt's teddy bear's ear and watched. Scorpius was actually the better player, which of course inspired Albus's competitive streak, so that they both called an end to the playing with regret.

Not a bad way to start their first of many evenings together. They even managed to heat up the casserole without problem, much to their combined relief.

Putting a second helping on his plate Albus absently looked over at Phoenix, who sat in a high chair while they ate, still gnawing on his sister's bear. He had a feeling she wouldn't be wanting it back after this, Albus thought as he noted the damage his son had already done to the stuffed animal.

"Do you think if we gave him one of those things you give babies to chew on, he'd take that over the bear?" Scorpius asked his dining companion, worried about the fur their son had to be ingesting while he chewed.

"We could see if he'll use a soother instead, after dinner." Albus gave Scorpius a wry grin. "We should plan to have an argument when he's old enough to start teething. We're going to want to get through that development as quickly as possible if we want to get any sleep."

Scorpius smiled shyly back in return. "From what little I know about kids, there are going to be a lot of phases we're going to want to skip, aren't there?"

"True, but since we get to skip potty training most parents would say we have no right to complain."

.


	9. Bonds To Be Explained

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters will be finding themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's just the way it's gotta be. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy this new chapter and let me know what you think.

Bonds To Be Explained

After putting Phoenix down for the night Scorpius excused himself to go and shower, grabbing his clothes and stuff so that he could change into his pajamas in the bathroom. That Albus was stripping out of his clothes with zero reluctance or modesty had the Slytherin loath to leave. But he made himself head into the hallway and down to the bathroom Tomo had fixed up for them, admiring the intricate plasterwork and carved cabinets as he stripped down as well behind the safety of closed doors. It really was a shame that no one had lived in the place for over a decade, Scorpius thought as he folded up his discarded clothes.

Would they come back here to live once school was over, Scorpius wondered as he stepped into the tub slash shower, drawing the curtain around Scorpius fiddled with the dials, smiling as the hot water hit his tired body. Bracing his hands against the wall Scorpius was lost in idle thought when he heard the bathroom door opening. Straightening to attention Scorpius stared through the foggy white shower curtain, his stomach tightening when he heard the sound of Albus humming over the sound of the beating water. What the hell?

Transferring the toothpaste onto his toothbrush Albus casually glanced in the direction of the shower, just able to make out the outline of the other man's body through the curtain. The man really liked his showers, Albus thought as he brushed his teeth. He'd been in there a long time.

When he'd finished with that task Albus turned off his own tap, stashing his brush in the cup Tomo had helpfully left beside the sink. With amusement the Gryffindor noted how the heat from the shower was fogging up the mirror in front of him so that he was just a misty blur. And that thought lead to another, a wicked gleam coming into Albus's eyes as he walked over to stand at the end of the tub, grabbing the bath curtain so that he could pull it back far enough to stick his head in.

Grinning, Albus winked at the soaking wet Slytherin, absently noticing that the man wasn't nearly as skinny as he would have thought, at least from the back. "Ever think that the reason you blush so red is because you broil yourself in the shower every night? You stay in there much longer and you're going to melt."

Closing the curtain once more Albus whistled as he headed out of the bathroom, having no idea that he'd once again reduced the blonde to a boiled lobster state that just have surpassed the man's earlier blushing.

)

Still blushing faintly Scorpius returned to the bedroom feeling so out of it that he thought he deserved an award for being able to find his way to his own bed. Not that he wouldn't much rather crawl into the Gryffindor's bed, Scorpius thought as he pulled back his covers on autopilot. Now that would definitely be a reason to melt. Cuddling up against that lean, muscled body, feeling those strong arms wrap around him to hold him close. Scorpius melted just a little just imagining it.

"So any idea what we should do tomorrow?"

Snuggling into his pillow Scorpius could think of any number of things he'd like to do, many of them involving never leaving the bedroom and a shared bed. But since that wasn't possible Scorpius struggled to re-engage his brain and redeem himself and come up with some shared activity they could do together. "We should maybe get the lay of the neighborhood? Go out, explore a little? You said Phoenix and I need sun, right?"

"Good idea. We'll need to know what shops are nearby, not to mention the chemist's and convenience stores. Oh, and we'll have to get our hands on some Muggle money, just in case we need emergency supplies ASAP. I'll teach you the currency and stuff then."

"I'm going to have to interact with Muggles?"

Albus sat up in bed, looking in the direction of Scorpius's. "That going to be a problem? I mean we might not be getting to know our immediate neighbors, but we will run into Muggle if we go out together."

Scorpius got the underlining questions immediately, the darkness of the room allowing him to show a little sass and backbone as he sarcastically answered those questions. "I'm not going to go on a Muggle killing spree, Potter. Blood is so hard to get out of clothes after all and it might traumatize Phoenix just a little, watching his father pick the Muggles off like fish in a barrel."

"I didn't mean to insult you." And he honestly hadn't, though Albus could see how his words could be misinterpreted that way. Especially since their families were very good at always thinking the worst of the other. "I didn't think you'd hurt them, I was thinking more along the lines of you refusing to acknowledge their existence, which could end badly. Very badly depending on the size and gender of the Muggle."

"Oh. Sorry." It was reflective, to assume he was being insulted. "And I won't be rude and embarrass you in front of the Muggles. I have to set a good example for Phoenix."

"So we're in agreement that we will raise our son to like everyone regardless of species, gender, skin color, religion, bloodlines and…what else am I forgetting?" Albus tapped a finger against his cheek as he tried to think of other things people were discriminated against. "Oh, and no discriminating against anyone because of their sexual orientation, social status, or bad taste in clothing. That covers the main things, I think."

"I think we can be in agreement about all that." Scorpius acknowledged, tempted to ask the man to more clearly explain his feelings about and towards those who preferred romantic partners of their own gender. But the last thing he wanted was to give the Gryffindor one more reason to question his sexuality by noting his interest.

Not that the man wouldn't figure that out real quick if he made a habit of interrupting his showers, Scorpius thought with a mixture of dread, embarrassment and resignation. He wasn't going to survive a year, much less several of them in a house with Albus without the man clueing in. The Gryffindor wasn't stupid.

The best he could probably hope for was that Albus decided not to call him on it.

"Hey, Scorpius, could I ask you a personal question?"

Oh shit, the man couldn't have figured it out already, Scorpius thought in a panic as his hands fisted reflexively at his sides. "What do you want to know?" The Slytherin forced the words out, praying that whatever the man wanted to know, it wouldn't be too personal.

"Well I was thinking, if Phoenix's growth rate does slow down once he's used to us and understands we won't ditch him, well then we could potentially all be together for at least a decade. That's a long time, we'll both nearly be thirty. And Gabrielle, she'd expect you to marry her before that, right, even though I don't think you should be marrying her just because everyone else thinks it's a good idea. So anyway, what I'm getting at is, us having a kid is seriously going to hinder our one on one time with the ladies if you know what I'm saying, and Phoenix has to come first. So my question is…if Gabrielle isn't okay with you two living with Phoenix and I after school is done…what are you going to do?"

Scorpius didn't even have to think about it to know that Gabrielle would never be able to live in the same house as Albus. It would be painful for her, Scorpius thought with regret and guilt. He knew how much it bothered her already, just watching him react to the Gryffindor at school. Being stuck in such tight quarters, even as his wife, would be too much for Elle to bear. Which meant, Scorpius realized, that unless she was willing to wait for him until Phoenix was all grown up, it was now inconceivable that they could marry. And in all honesty that was fine with him.

It would not be fine with her.

"I'll inform her when she returns from her holiday that until Phoenix is grown I won't be getting romantically involved or married to anyone." Scorpius finally said softly, staring up at the bed's canopy as he accepted the truth of his words, selfishly glad that fate had given him an excuse not to have to spend a lifetime trying to make Gabrielle happy, failing miserably. "Her parents will no doubt insist she find someone else and that will be that."

"That won't bother you?"

Scorpius's lips curved wryly as he spoke. "The idea of being a bachelor has actually always appealed to me. It was just never an option available to me as an only child. But since I have a heir in Phoenix, I see no reason why I can't take that role in life without anyone protesting my decision now. It would be in Gabrielle's best interest not to marry me anyway. Unfortunately she won't see it that way." He added with a sigh. She'd fight to stay with him, regardless of what he said or did. Gabrielle was just that loyal and dedicated to him.

"That would be an understatement." Which begged a question to Albus's way of thinking. "You really don't want to marry someone and have more kids? I mean I know you Malfoys are into the one kid thing, but I always figured being an only child would be damn lonely."

"You'll provide Phoenix with plenty of siblings." Scorpius pointed out, ignoring the clutch in his gut at the thought of Albus marrying and having children. Of having to meet and even possibly live with the man's family in order to provide Phoenix a home with his whole family. That was going to be as hellish for him as it would be for Gabrielle if the situation were different. His punishment from the fates, most likely.

"Well I definitely feel positive towards the creation process." Albus agreed with a wicked little chuckle. "The proper creation process I mean. Our way was more than a little freaky."

Scorpius had to smile in agreement, even as he squirmed over the topic and the tone of the Gryffindor's laugh. Theirs had to be the weirdest form of conception ever.

"Well I guess we should call it a night, we've got plenty time ahead to talk about things. And hey, don't worry about Gabrielle, we can put our heads together and come up with something there."

"Thanks."

Albus heard the doubt in the Slytherin's voice, but wisely decided not to take offense. It certainly wouldn't be easy. But he did have a lot of guy friends, the Gryffindor reminded himself. Maybe he could find someone else for the girl. Which was also not going to be easy, especially since he'd gotten the distinct impression that the girl was not going to give Scorpius up without a fight. Something to think about later, Albus decided with a low yawn, settling back against his pillow as he closed his eyes determinedly.

"Night, Scorpius."

"Night."

)

After a breakfast that consisted of toast and fruit the two boys prepared to head outside for their first stroll around the neighborhood with Phoenix. The weather was warm and sunny, perfect for a walk, and Phoenix was dressed in a green t-shirt that matched his eyes and a pair of black corduroy overalls. The outfit was completed by a small ball cap to make sure the boy didn't get burned by the sun, since they had no idea what his skin tolerance was.

They were all set to head out when a thought occurred to Albus. "Crap, what are we going to tell the cheek pinchers?"

Scorpius looked over at the Gryffindor in confusion, balancing a gurgling Phoenix on his hip as he tried to concentrate on the conversation and not how hot the man looked with his hair up. "What are you talking about? And what are cheek pinchers?"

"Cheek pinchers. Grandmothers. Little old ladies. Collectors of cats and ugly figurines. In a neighborhood this established there's bound to be plenty of them everywhere. And they'll come over to pinch Phoenix's cheeks and coo over how utterly adorable he is. It's a given, it's engrained in their old lady DNA. And they're going to have questions. Questions like who the baby belongs to for instance. What the hell are we going to tell them?"

"Well he belongs to us." Scorpius pointed out, only then realizing what the man was referring to. "Oh, you mean about what his relation to us is. He does look like our kid after all. Maybe…maybe we should say he's related to us somehow? Like he's our shared cousin?"

Albus shook his head. "That won't work as he gets older, plus once he can talk he won't be calling us his cousins, Scorpius."

"We'll have to hide him as it is, simply because of how fast he could grow though." Scorpius countered. "It will be you and I outdoors mostly. But if you don't think we should do the cousins thing…we'll one of us could have knocked up the other one's sister. How about that?"

"Our parents aren't going to like that. Plus that would mean you knocked up Lily, which would necessitate me killing you in a very slow, painful manner."

"What? Lily? Ewww."

Albus's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you insulting my kid sister?"

Scorpius shook his head so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash. "Of course not. That's not what I meant. It's just that she'd have been around fourteen if we had actually…if we had…and that would be wrong. Cause she'd have been just a kid." Not to mention the fact that she was a girl upped the eww factor big time, Scorpius silently added. That she was the sister of the guy he most wanted to sleep with took that eww factor out of orbit.

Green eyes thoughtful Albus decided to give the Slytherin the benefit of the doubt. But just in case it was the idea of his sister in general the other man found distasteful… "How about this instead, then. You used to be a girl which is how I knocked you up. I mean he's going to call you mum anyway and this way we only have to lie a little. How about that?"

Staring at the man in shock Scorpius could only open and close his mouth, words were beyond him.

"There, we have a solution." Albus grinned mischievously, walking over to open the door for Scorpius and Phoenix. "Let's go."

In a daze Scorpius carried their baby outside, Albus's hand on the small of his back as the man directed him down the stairs and onto the sidewalk. His brain was so blown away by what the Gryffindor had just said that he didn't even realize he was being touched and herded.

They'd walked a block and a half before Scorpius's brain reorganized enough to speak. "You…you think I could be a girl? That I look like a girl?" Like a girl he would sleep with?

Albus chuckled at the question. "You're more girlie looking than me, that's for sure, but no, I do know you're a guy. I wouldn't mistake you for a girl."

"Oh."

"You almost sound disappointed. You want to look more feminine and girlie? Cause if that's the case I'm sure Domi and Victoire could help you with that." There was definite amusement in Albus's voice as he offered up his cousins as beauty consultants.

Scorpius gave the other man a dark look. "I don't want to be a girl. I'm quite happy with my gender, thank you."

After all, even if he'd been born a girl, he still wouldn't have stood a chance with the man grinning so cheekily at him, Scorpius thought with a wistful little sigh. And though he didn't know much about girls, Gabrielle had made it quite clear that PMS was a bitch he was lucky to avoid every month. So he'd stick to being a guy, thank you very much.

"Hey, if you'd been born a girl, would your parents have kept having kids? I mean having only one child is like a tradition in your family, right?"

"I suppose. A girl wouldn't be able to inherit after all. Ironically, men run on the Malfoy side, and girls run on my mother's side. So I suppose there was a fifty, fifty chance when I was conceived."

Albus considered that. "Well on my mum's side we have six guys and one girl. I guess it's no wonder that Phoenix was born a boy. The odds were stacked heavily on the guy genes. Which is probably for the best when you think about it. Raising a girl would seriously suck. Big time. In ways I don't even want to imagine."

Scorpius nodded in complete agreement. "Unless she turned out to be a complete tomboy, and we're just not that lucky."

"All those embarrassing questions, body changes, and then we'd have to waste away our twenties and thirties killing every boy that looked at her twice." Albus slugged an arm over Scorpius shoulder as he mock shuddered. "We narrowly escaped a horrible fate, you and I."

Scorpius smiled back in agreement.


	10. Bonding Over Food

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's just the way it's gotta be. Thanks for reading.

My apologies to anyone who took offense to my error in word choice from last chapter. As soon as it was pointed out to me I realized that transgendered was indeed the word that I should have used. Albus's wasn't serious, but to those who took offence I apologize again. It's been rewritten.

Bonding Over Food

"You didn't really tell anyone that Scorpius was a girl, did you?" Rosie asked as she cuddled Phoenix, who cuddled the red bear that had become his in his chubby little arms. She'd stopped by to drop off some more clothes and toys for the little boy, not surprised to find out that the newest addition to their family already had more clothes than both his parents put together. Apparently Mrs. Malfoy was determined to match them outfit for outfit, the girl thought with amusement.

Albus laughed and shook his head. "Naw, though I think he thought I was serious up until I told the first cheek pincher that Phoenix was ours. Good British manners kept her from asking how that was physically possible, just as I thought they would. Though we did have a couple who prodded for more details, but I side stepped them quite well I think."

Teasingly Rosie waved a finger at him. "You're lucky he doesn't take after anyone in his family. That's the sort of thing a Malfoy would normally kill someone over."

"He is…pretty unique." They'd been living together for a little over a week, and so far they hadn't had a single real argument. Some strained moments and very long silences, but as a whole they'd learned to give each other their space while finding time to spend together with Phoenix, who kept them busy and entertained. It was embarrassing really, how fascinating they found the life they'd created together.

Rosie cocked her head to one side questioningly. "But you're getting along?"

He nodded. "Yeah, he's all right. Don't know if we'll ever be mates exactly, but I think we can make this work."

"And he's good with Phoenix?" Rosie asked, lowering her head to kiss the side of Phoenix's head, already hopelessly in love with the adorable baby.

"Yeah. He doesn't know a bloody thing about babies but he's getting the hang of things. It helps that there aren't any nappies to change or formula to try and make him drink. And the bond seems to bind us in a way so that as long as we're around he's happy. He hasn't cried once since the introduction party." Albus smiled as he reached out to ruffle the boy's hair. "And we'll find out how Mummy does without Daddy around tomorrow, won't we, Phoenix?"

"Where are you going tomorrow?"

"Davey's band is playing and he's blackmailed me as his best friend to come and cheer them on. They suck pretty bad apparently, so they need all the polite clapping they can muster from friends and relatives."

Rosie winced in sympathy. Her cousin's best friend was a reasonably talented guitar player who seemed to gravitate into bands no intelligent person would want to be in or hear. "I can see why you wouldn't just take Phoenix along. It would be so traumatizing for him that he'd be at least four come morning."

Albus laughed at the idea, though there was some truth to it. "Anyway, I'm meeting up with Davey and some others at this coffee shop at five. I'm hoping to come back to the house in one piece."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed for you."

"Thanks."

)

The next day Albus sat with a couple of his friends, waiting for the music to start as he fiddled with the tea he'd ordered. And when he wasn't fiddling with the tea he was nervously glancing at his watch. In some part of his mind he knew he was being an idiot, but he couldn't seem to stop himself either. Was this how all parents felt the first time they left their baby at home? He was ready to jump out of his skin. If he'd had some way of contacting Scorpius to check on them he would have probably done so at least a dozen times already. He should have gotten Tomo to help Scorpius babysit, Albus thought as he took a sip of his tea. Why hadn't he realized that sooner? What kind of a father was he?

"Not that you mentally freaking out isn't entertaining, because it is, but you need to calm down, Al." Frankie Longbottom told his friend with a smirk.

"But what if something goes wrong while I'm gone? What if Scorpius decides to heat up something instead of just making a sandwich and the stove explodes? It's really, really old you know. And he hadn't been using one that long. He didn't even know how to make soup before he hooked up with me."

Frankie rolled his eyes, though the use of the word hooked up struck the Gryffindor as…strange. "That's a Malfoy for you. But seriously, Al, I'm sure everything's fine."

"But what if it isn't?"

"Then you won't have to live with him anymore because the Wizarding World's version of Child Services will award you full custody." Davey's Muggle brother Marcus pointed out with a smirk.

Albus gave the younger man a dark look that had Marcus slouching in his seat instinctively. "We're a family now. And if something happened to him Phoenix would be inconsolable. I know it. And he'd never do anything to hurt Phoenix on purpose. It's accidentally I'm worried about!"

"Doesn't it suck though, living with The Ghost?" Davey's girlfriend Magda asked, using one of the school's popular nicknames for the Slytherin.

"I don't mind having Scorpius for a roommate at all." Only because she was a girl did Albus refrain from giving her a dark look for referring to Scorpius by that name. Well that and he had called the other man Ghost too, once upon a time. But he wouldn't ever again and he'd make sure none of his friends did either.

"Looks like the band is getting ready to play. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll get booed off the stage early." Marcus volunteered, hoping to lighten the mood he'd darkened. "This new band of his is even worse than the last one."

"So while I worry like crazy my ears will be viciously assaulted too. Good to know."

And were they ever assaulted. It was the shortest gig Davey had ever had as far as Albus knew. People actually threw stuff at them, which, Albus had to admit, wasn't without justification. If Davey weren't his best friend he'd throw stuff too. The drummer apparently couldn't keep time to save his life, and the vocalist was almost as hard on the ears as a mermaid out of water. His ears were still ringing ten minutes after leaving the coffee shop with his friends, since Davey and his band were no longer welcome in the establishment.

Walking together down the street the conversation turned to getting food, Albus immediately announcing that he would be passing to head on home instead.

"But we didn't even get to hang out." Davey protested as he walked at Albus's side. "And you've got to eat, right? I know I'm starving. Besides, you have to stick around and make me feel better about being banned from another coffee shop for life."

"We'll be at school soon and then we can all hang out together plenty." Albus pointed out, eager to get back and check on things. He was freaking himself out, but he couldn't' seem to stop supposing and rambling. "And I'll eat with Scorpius, if his head hasn't exploded from the strain of watching Phoenix by himself. He looked even paler than usual when I left. It would be very traumatizing for a child to see his mum's head explode, wouldn't it? Phoenix would likely never recover, and the Malfoys would blame me and refuse to pay for all his needed therapy. Money doesn't grow on trees you know."

"Well yours doesn't, but Muggle bills are made of paper which technically does come from trees." Magda points out with a smirk, elbowing Albus teasingly. "Now come on, guys, no fighting or insane rambling allowed. We'll just go to that new pizza place we passed on the way here, have some slices, and then we'll let Albus get back to his adorable baby boy. I want to meet Phoenix anyway. The picture of him in the Prophet was adorable."

"He was pretty cute looking, considering he's half Malfoy." Davey agreed.

"Malfoy's not bad looking." Magda argued, rolling her eyes when her boyfriend glared at her, the other guys giving her weird looks too. "What? I'm just saying. I mean he's no Al, but he's not someone you'd freak at waking up besides. Well no…that's not true, you'd freak out once you were awake enough to remember what his last name is, but before that you'd probably think he was decent looking."

"Let's get that pizza." Frankie announced, and changed the topic to something less nauseating.

)

Cleaning his cutting board by hand, a novel experience for someone who'd never done dishes before coming to his current residence, Scorpius glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Phoenix was still fascinated with the large spoon he'd given him earlier. Apparently his son was a little vain, the baby had been studying his own reflection for a good twenty minutes now. But given how adorable he was, Scorpius couldn't really blame him.

"Because you're going to be as gorgeous as your Daddy, yes you are." Scorpius told the baby, who banged the spoon against his high chair in agreement. "You'll be the handsomest boy to ever come to Hogwarts, just you wait and see."

Phoenix's response to that was to gurgle and blow spit bubbles.

Laughing Scorpius dried his hands on a dish towel and walked over to use his handkerchief to wipe up the drool. "Is that's your way of saying you're going to be drool worthy, Phoenix? Hmm?" Placing a kiss on the baby's head Scorpius didn't doubt it for a minute.

Ten minutes later, when the egg timer went off, Scorpius turned it off and pulled out his wand, pointing it towards the oven. The oven door opening Scorpius used magic to make the roasting pan rise out the door and placed it on top of the stove. Walking over to study his first attempt at cooking Scorpius was pleased to see that he hadn't obviously burned anything. That was a good first sign. Probably. Looking over in the direction of the instructions Scorpius read them over again carefully, wanting to make sure he'd followed his house elf instructions to the best of his abilities.

Turning his head to look at Phoenix Scorpius gave the boy a rueful look. "Looks like I'll have to eat it to find out if it's edible."

Scorpius wasn't quite sure what to make of the fact that the baby found the idea laughable, but since it was a welcome change from the worried looks the baby had been wearing off and on since Albus had left the Slytherin decided not to take offense.

Walking out of the room and into the dining room Scorpius retrieved his plate and headed back over to the oven again, using a large spoon he'd set out for the purpose to scoop up some of the potatoes and carrots onto his plate. Next it was time to slice up the roast, something that proved harder than he had anticipated, but it looked cooked all the way through, which was the main thing.

It certainly smelled wonderful, the Slytherin thought with a surprising amount of pride. Maybe Albus was right, to compare it to potion making, which he excelled at and the Gryffindor most definitely did not.

Covering up the dish to keep the rest of the contents warm Scorpius picked up his plate with his left hand and his wand in the right, magically moving the baby and his high chair into the dining room with him. Once there the Slytherin took a seat and angled Phoenix's chair towards him since the baby liked to be able to see him at all times.

Cutting up some of his meat Scorpius smiled as he took his first bite, savoring the perfection of his creation. It tasted just like it was supposed to. Winking at the baby, Scorpius grinned as he tried the potatoes next. "Looks like I didn't do too bad at all, Phoenix." If he didn't get food poisoning, he was ready to believe he might just be able to learn how to cook successfully.

The Slytherin was about a quarter of the way through his first helping when he heard the sound of the front door being opened. At first he assumed it was Albus, home early, but there was more than one person walking down the long hallway, the sound of the footsteps and whispered voices indicated there were several.

With his wand drawn Scorpius had just enough time to get to his feet and put himself between Phoenix and the doorway before he saw that Albus was leading the group of people with a very hungry look on his face. A look that turned into hungry puzzlement when the Gryffindor took in the fine linen, fancy china, and lit candelabra Scorpius had set out.

"Where did all that come from? The food and the fancy table setting I mean. And is there any more food?" Not even bothering to say hello to the two or make introductions Albus headed straight for the kitchen as soon as Scorpius told him to help himself to what was in the pan on the stove, the others on his heels as they loudly announced their interest in having some too.

Retaking his seat Scorpius looked over at Phoenix, his pleasure lost now that they had guests. He'd recognized all but the one, who looked enough like Davey Anders to suggest they were related somehow. It wasn't that they were bad people of course, Albus wasn't the time to hang out with the mean spirited or stuck up, but they didn't like him without knowing him, and Albus was sure to ignore him in favor of their company.

Working up a smile for Phoenix Scorpius turned back to his food, ignoring the Gryffindors and guest when they came in to take seats at the long dining room table. Though he was pleased when Albus took the seat on the other side of Phoenix, presenting them as a united front to the others. The unknown boy, Longbottom and Anders were eating roast beef sandwiches, Albus and Magda Pinewhistle had gotten to the potatoes and carrots first apparently. There was some satisfaction though, in watching them take their first bites of his food and show pleasure in his creation.

Albus's brows furrowed though once he'd eaten enough to settle his stomach's growling, puzzlement in his eyes as he looked over Phoenix's head to meet Scorpius's gaze. "You never did say where this came from. Did Kreacher get up and make it for you? I told him you'd be fine with a sandwich for dinner."

Shyly Scorpius shook his head. "I…I made it."

"You made this?" Frankie stared at the Slytherin from across the table, his sandwich stopping millimeters from his lips. "Seriously? You can cook?" Frankie looked over at Albus questioningly, sure that the man had said earlier that Scorpius barely knew how to operate a stove.

"This is the best pot roast sandwich I've ever tasted." Marcus added as he continued to eat with a gusto. Albus and Magda had gotten all the potatoes, and he wasn't much for carrots, but this beat the hell out of the crappy cardboard pizza they'd tried to consume earlier.

Meeting Albus's still puzzled gaze Scorpius shrugged self consciously. "I…well you said it would be good…if I could cook. I thought I'd try while you were away, so that if it turned out really bad you wouldn't feel like you had to eat it."

Albus grinned at the Slytherin in dawning delight. "Well thanks to this you're our new family cook. This is brilliant, Scorpius, seriously. It doesn't even need ketchup!"

Scorpius knew that to be a big compliment, since the man loved to put ketchup on everything if given the chance. Flushing with the praise the Slytherin turned his attention to playing with his food, his cheeks flushing even pinker as Magda and Davey added their praises, forgetting who they were talking to as they made yummy noises over the food.

Looking very pleased with the situation Phoenix slapped his hands down on his high chair happily, like he was beating on drums.

"So what's with the fancy plate and silverware?" Magda asked as she sighed over the fact that there were no more potatoes on her plate. The Slytherin hadn't been expecting them after all, and hadn't made that many. She was just thankful she'd guilted the guys into letting her have what Albus had left behind.

Scorpius shrugged self consciously. "This is how we eat dinner at home."

"Hmmm, you can cook, know how to set a romantic table, and you can watch a baby for two hours without burning the house down or calling someone for help." Magda grinned at the Slytherin, a twinkle in her eye. "I might just have to dump Davey and go after you instead, Malfoy. The best Davey can cook is grilled cheese sandwiches."

While Scorpius flushed a little over the comment Frankie shook his head at his friend's teasing. "You'd have to steal him from Gabrielle Goyle, Mags."

"Oh, right." With a laugh the brunette slugged an arm over her boyfriend's shoulder, leaning in to give him a smacking kiss on the cheek. "Looks like I'll have to stick with you. She'd crush me like a bug without breaking stride."

Nobody could argue with that.


	11. Bonds Are Building

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's just the way it's gotta be. Thanks for reading.

Bonds Are Building

The meal was going fairly well up until Kreacher appeared in the doorway, having woken from his slumber long enough to sense the additional presences in the house. Leaning heavily against the doorjamb, looking like a cough could knock him off his feet, the house elf stared at the people around the table with growing horror and knowledge.

Seeing the look that had come into the house elf's murky eyes Scorpius acted instinctively, speaking in old Latin to the elf before the creature could react to the less than pureblooded guests. "You will not insult them. Despite their bloodlines they are Albus's guests in this house and therefore you and I will not disgrace the Black family name by being less than cordial to them. It will not be said otherwise by the other Pureblood families, understand?"

Straightening automatically at the cool command of his worthy master Kreacher immediately swallowed his intended words and bowed his head in the direction of the table. "Kreacher welcomes you to the Noble House of Black. Will the Masters be needing anything from Kreacher tonight?"

In all his life Albus couldn't remember ever once hearing the house elf speaking so politely. He had caught only a few of Scorpius's words, the rest had been…well Latin to him. But whatever Scorpius had said in his extremely effective master to servant tone of voice had given the elf a serious attitude adjustment. In fact, for the moment, Scorpius was looking very…Malfoy-ish. Which somehow, in this case, was actually a compliment.

"No, Kreacher, you go back to bed. We have everything handled here. Thank you for coming to check on us." Albus told the elf.

The house elf nodded once more and than vanished from sight.

"What did you say to him?" Albus asked as soon as the elf was gone. "Normally he'd have been bashing Davey and Marcus to Hogwarts and back no matter what I said."

"I just reminded him of his manners." Scorpius replied, emphasizing the 'I' part, since he would naturally be obeyed more than Albus would.

Which wouldn't have worked for him, but then again he and his family had long since realized the fact that Kreacher wouldn't and most likely couldn't change at this point. Anything they said usually went in one long ear and out the other. But maybe the Slytherin could soften the elf up a little before Kreacher's end. It could only do the creature some good.

"Way to go, Ghost." Davey drawled out and then winced, realizing what he'd called the other man. "Sorry, I shouldn't have called you that."

Scorpius just shrugged, ignoring the apologetic looks Albus was aiming his way. It wasn't like he hadn't called him that too once upon a time. "I'm quiet, not deaf. I'm well aware of what you lot and others call me. Ghost is actually one of the kinder ones. So forget about it, you can call me Ghost if you want to."

"He will be calling you Scorpius. They all will." Albus's tone was as commanding as Scorpius's had been to Kreacher. It broke no argument.

"Well Scorpius is done eating and will be putting away his place setting now." Pushing his chair back Scorpius got to his feet and piled his silverware and glass onto the plate before heading in the direction of the kitchen, setting them in the sink. He'd do them later, when there was no one around to see him do it. He was still a Malfoy after all.

Returning back to the dining room Scorpius headed for Phoenix, picking him out of his chair. "We'll leave you guys to whatever."

"But we wanted to play with him. And we're done here right? You've got a living room where we can all hang out together, right?" Madga asked, determined to mend the fences and get to know the guy who was going to be joining their group once they hit school. She knew Al too well to think otherwise.

And so, with much surprise, Scorpius found himself sitting on the floor with the others while Davey played his guitar for Phoenix, who was fascinated by the instrument. The little boy didn't take his eyes off the Gryffindor's strumming fingers, moving his head back and forth to the rhythm.

"Looks like our boy likes music." Albus observed, looking down at the boy sitting comfortably in Magda's lap with his bear.

Scorpius nodded. He didn't recognize any of the songs the man was playing, which either meant they were very contemporary or Muggle music. "I'll have to bring my music from home, play it for him. See what he thinks of the classics."

"Sounds like a plan." Albus agreed, even as he mentally made plans to bring his own music collection too. He didn't think the Slytherin meant oldies when he said classics. Between him, Davey and Scorpius they'd give Phoenix a well rounded musical education.

And Phoenix clapped as if he knew what they were talking about.

)

Albus's friends stayed for a good hour and then it was time for them to depart. Phoenix having passed out in Frankie's lap. The little boy and was now resting over Albus's shoulder like a limp rag, his breathing quiet and even. Both Albus and Scorpius could see even more stuffed animals coming Phoenix's way, the little guy having won Davey, Magda, Marcus and Frankie completely. They certainly wouldn't be at a loss for babysitters at Hogwarts, and Albus was hoping that Phoenix's ability to win everyone over would spill over and help Scorpius connect with his other friends.

Closing the door after waving their guests off Albus smiled at Scorpius, pleased with the way things had gone. "That went pretty well, don't you think?"

"Nobody died anyway."

Giving the Slytherin a 'very funny' look, Albus hip checked him. "Hey, I mean it. I want you to get along with my friends and vice versa. It's important. I'll make sure that they make the effort so you should too. You need more friends than just Gabrielle, and she needs more friends than just you. It's a win win for both of you. Maybe we can even find her a boyfriend?"

Scorpius looked over at him, not surprised that the man would suggest such a thing. "Friends aren't everything but yes, I will try to get along with yours. You do realize though that you can't will us to all get along, don't you? I can think of at least three of your other friends who will not be pleased by your demands where I'm concerned."

Albus had no problems coming up with three off the top of his head, absently wondering if they were the same three as Scorpius's. He didn't want to ask or think about those coming conversations though, so he changed the subject. "Well anyway, this was a good start. Now I'm going to put this little guy to bed. Be right back."

Turning around Albus headed towards the stairs to put Phoenix to bed before the baby woke up and demanded to be entertained again. He'd just gotten the little boy changed into his jammies and under the covers when Scorpius came up beside him, leaning down to place Phoenix's bear beside the still sleeping baby.

"He left it in the living room." They'd learned earlier in the week that Phoenix didn't take the bear being out of his reach very well. Their son hated bath time more than anything because they tried to prevent him from making his bear bathe too. Needless to say the bear ended up as wet as Phoenix by the end of every bath.

Standing so close to Albus had his stomach doing flip flops, but Scorpius liked the feeling, liked knowing the Gryffindor didn't mind him being so close. He just plain liked Albus.

"Good thing you spotted his bear. I didn't even notice." Turning his head Albus froze for a moment, surprised at just how close to him the Slytherin was. It gave him a strange jolt, to find him that close so that their breaths melded now that they were facing each other. And once again Albus found himself staring into the other man's eyes, surprised by the stunning beauty of them. They were a silvery fog that was sort of…sexy now that he thought about it.

Eyes widening to the size of dinner plates at the thought Albus could all but feel his brain implode at the out of nowhere, totally inappropriate, Scorpius was not a girl thought.

"Are you having a seizure?" Scorpius asked slowly, not quite sure what to make of the Gryffindor's strange expression. It was doing something to him that had him fighting back the urge to move in closer, just a little closer, Scorpius thought even as he forced himself to stay still.

Slowly Albus turned his head back and forth in the negative.

"Are you okay?"

"I will be. Hopefully." Looking back towards Phoenix Albus stared blindly at the baby, trying to figure out where that weird, random thought had come from. It had to be the pizza, the Gryffindor decided, relief flooding him at the handy excuse. He'd gotten food poisoning from that fake pizza and was currently delusional and not thinking straight.

A little confused as to what was going on in Albus's head Scorpius figured it was safest just to leave it alone and back off. He probably didn't want to know anyway. The Gryffindor was probably just weirded out by being in such tight quarters with him, the Slytherin finally decided in disappointment. The man was taking this whole thing a lot harder than he was.

"I think I'm going to go…and…check on Kreacher."

Scorpius blinked as he watched Albus all but run out of the room. When the door closed behind the Gryffindor the Slytherin turned back to look at their sleeping son with a loud sigh. "What did I do?"

)

The next day Scorpius was grateful that Albus appeared to be normal, the Gryffindor's behavior standard enough that the Slytherin decided that maybe he'd just imagined the other man's strange behavior towards him the night before. And it was during breakfast the next morning when they received a letter from their Headmaster, who had been contacted by Albus's father about the situation they found themselves in. They were to meet with the head of their school at the end of the week to discuss what was to be done.

"Well it sounds like he's at least willing to consider letting us bring Phoenix with us." Lazily stirring his spoon through his cereal Albus mused over the possibilities. "It's too bad we don't all know our schedules yet. If we did we could assure him that we would have someone to watch Phoenix at all times."

After swallowing his own spoonful of cereal Scorpius spoke up. "That won't be a problem. If we can't find someone to watch him, or he won't let himself be babysat by someone other than us, I can do it."

The look Albus sent in the Slytherin's direction said that he thought the other man was missing the point. "You can't just not go to class, Scorpius. Especially if you're going to pass all your NEWTS."

"I don't have to have the NEWTS though." Scorpius countered softly. "I don't need to finish this year with the NEWTS I'd intended to get. My future doesn't depend on them the way yours does. If I need to be the school equivalent of a stay at home parent than that's fine. I'm prepared to do that."

Albus blinked as he tried to understand, confused and not sure if he should be mad or not. "What do you mean, I need to go to school and you don't?"

"I'm not insulting you, Albus, it's just a fact. I'm a Malfoy. My future has been mapped out for me since before I was even conceived. Like all my ancestors before me I'll live off the money generated by our investments and properties, slowly taking over the reins there as the years pass and my father and grandfather retire. I could fail all my NEWTS and it wouldn't affect my future earnings or job. I could easily drop out now, though I'd prefer not to. So what I meant was, your future isn't set in stone the way mine is. You need to finish school properly."

He wanted to argue with that but he couldn't. He did need to finish school, and while his family was comfortably off they weren't so comfortable he could live off his savings either. Tapping his fingers on the table Albus supposed it was good that Scorpius could shorten his course load if necessary, but it didn't seem fair to him either. "I'll tell the Headmaster to choose another Head Boy then. I can't skip out on my classes, but I can ask to be excused from the extra duties that will bring. And I'll leave the Quidditch team if necessary. They'll just have to understand."

"That's not-." Scorpius's words died in his throat at the look Albus aimed in his direction. "At least try and stay on the team then. You'll be impossible to live with if you're going through Quidditch withdrawal."

Albus's lips twitched. "But if I quit your team will stand a chance of winning the House Cup this year."

"Because I'm so fond of my housemates." Scorpius returned dryly, looking over in Phoenix's direction thoughtfully. "I suppose he'll end up in Gryffindor anyway. I might as well start cheering for your house now." Not that he didn't cheer madly for Albus whenever the man had a match already, Scorpius silently thought with just a hint of a smile. He just did it all in his head.

Albus grinned at the idea. "So you and Phoenix will come and cheer for me, huh?"

"I'm sure he'd love to wave a Gryffindor banner around." Neatly sidestepping the question of his own cheering participation Scorpius leaned back in his chair. "So any plans for today?"

"I thought I'd drop by my parents place and see if I can't find the old guitar Davey gave me a couple years ago. He tried to teach me to play so that I could be in his band, but I'm only slightly better than adequate. Phoenix seemed fascinated by Davey's last night though, so I figured I'd haul it out of the attic and see if I can remember the basics for him. You?"

"I thought I'd spend some time in the parlor opening our latest batch of letters and gifts." Scorpius answered, faintly wincing as he thought of the pile they still had to go through. The article Albus's mother had written about Phoenix had resulted in them being bombarded with letters filled with baby advice and words of encouragement. Only one in every ten letters or so told Albus to get full custody of Phoenix, Scorpius thought wryly, few people liking the idea of Draco Malfoy's son having any access to the Chosen One's first grandson. Pretty much all the letters were addressed to the Albus and Phoenix, but he was doing his share of the reading and thank you notes for those who had sent their son presents.

Albus winced too. It was indeed about time to have another letter opening party. "Tell you what, let's do that until lunchtime. We'll go out as a reward for all our hard work and stop at my parents' place afterwards."

Scorpius nodded his agreement.

And so the two spent the next two and a half hours working their way through letters, presents, and the required thank you notes they had to write so that their mothers and grandmothers wouldn't kill them for having bad manners.

"We're going to need to pick up more ink." Albus muttered as he flexed his fingers, which were going numb. "And maybe some more of this fancy paper too."

"We'll we haven't taken Phoenix to Diagon Alley since he was…in his egg." Scorpius finished lamely, his lips twitching at the way that sounded. "There's no point in getting our books until we know what's happening with school, but we could go there for lunch and pick up some of the basics while we're there. We can drop this batch of thank you notes off at the post office too. He does seems to like being around people." The Slytherin added, looking down at the he in question.

Playing on top of a blanket that changed colors, one of his latest gifts, Phoenix grinned up at them with a green bow stuck to the side of his head, just hanging off a few strands of the boy's blonde hair. Albus had stuck it there earlier as a joke; the bow seemed to fascinate their son more than the present that had come with it.

"Sounds like a plan, though we're liable to get mobbed a little. At least we won't have to explain how he's related to us or why we're together. I think everyone in the known Wizard universe now knows about him. And they'll all want to tell us they know." Albus added as he sealed up what was the last letter he would write for the rest of the bloody day. "I'll get him ready to go while you finish yours, all right?"

Scorpius nodded his agreement. "Fair enough. Oh, and ask Kreacher if we should pick up anything while we're at the Alley."

"We can pick stuff up for you to cook for me too." Albus added as he picked Phoenix up, winking at Scorpius playfully.

"That too." Scorpius agreed, fighting back a blush.


	12. Bonds Are Bruised

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the storyline. Thanks for reading.

Happy one day late Birthday to Ms. Akari!

Bonds Are Bruised

Scorpius had just finished up his last thank you letter of the day when he heard the sound of something coming down the chimney. Turning around the Slytherin watched the eagle owl fly into the room, recognizing it immediately at belonging to his Malfoy grandparents. Holding out his arm for the owl to use as a perch Scorpius retrieved the letter attached to its leg with interest. This would be the first time he had heard from his grandparents since he had hooked up with the Potters so to speak. It was bound to be interesting.

The letter was addressed to Phoenix, and it was written in his grandmother's handwriting. This puzzled him for a moment before he put two and two together and guessed that his grandmother had most likely been forbidden to talk to him by his grandfather. So she was talking to her great grandson instead. Opening the letter, which included something wrapped up in tissue paper, Scorpius unfolded the letter.

_Dear Phoenix,_

_Your grandmother has informed me that you like bears, so enclosed is a present from me, your great grandmother, which I hope you like. You would be wise to remind your father, my grandson, that even though it's still summer, it's important to dress you warmly. And you should always wear a hat when you're outside. I hope this one will suit you._

_Your Great Grandmother,_

_Narcissa Malfoy_

Lips twitching, Scorpius set the letter aside and unfolded the tissue paper, a wide smile breaking over his face as he got a good look at just what his grandmother had purchased for Phoenix.

Searching out a camera Scorpius hurried up the stairs, the present from his grandmother in the other hand. Letting himself into their bedroom Scorpius hid the present behind his back while holding out the camera. "Albus, you're going to want to take the camera and record this. I have a feeling this is definitely going to be one for the family photo album."

Intrigued, Albus came over and accepted the camera, aiming it at their son while Scorpius moved to kneel down by the boy, careful not to get in Albus's way. And then, from behind his back, he withdrew the hat his grandmother had purchased for the baby, which had been designed to resemble the head of a teddy bear, the ear flaps on either side made to look like paws.

Phoenix's eyes went huge, staring at the hat like it was a million galleons as he chucked his red bear away like it was nothing. Little arms waving frantically at his sides Phoenix made frantic noises and than held his hands out towards the hat, rocking back and forth as his eyes begged Scorpius to hand it over to him.

Laughing at the show Scorpius leaned forward and put the hat on the ecstatic baby's head.

"He likes the hat." Albus said with a laugh of his own from behind the camera.

"He likes the hat." Scorpius agreed.

)

Preening with pride over his new hat Phoenix was delighted to be out and about to show it off. Scorpius was carrying him again, for the same reason he'd held the baby when Albus had introduced them to his family. It was best if Scorpius had the baby as a sort of shield, and as a way of making him more appealing to everyone they might meet. And they met a lot of people at the Leaky Cauldron, where they had opted to go for lunch. The place was crowded to begin with, but once word got out that Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy were there with their magical son, the pub filled up to full capacity.

The boys were thankful to Frankie, who came over to sit with them and took over holding and supervising Phoenix while the two ate their lunch. Everyone cooed over the baby and Phoenix proved to be fairly tolerant of the cheek pinchers, though he started to fuss a little if any of them touched his beloved hat.

The hat was not to be touched.

"And he really doesn't eat anything?" Hannah Longbottom asked Albus, her hands on her son's shoulders as she smiled down at the adorable baby boy on her own baby's knee.

"Nope. We've tried to get him to eat but he just scrunches up his face like we're offering him garbage." Albus informed her as he scooped up the last of his peas. "It certainly keeps down on the grocery bills. Not to mention the fact that we don't have to try and convince him to eat mush or not throw said mush around the room."

Hannah laughed and squeezed her son's shoulders. "Why couldn't you have been born that way?"

"Sorry for being born from the wrong kind of egg, Mum." Frankie shot back.

Leaning forward Hannah gave the side of her son's head a smacking kiss. "You're forgiven."

Seeing that they were finishing up Frankie gave his classmates a questioning look. "So you two want me to come with you shopping? You probably need an escort as it is, just to get through the crowds that are going to be all over you and the baby."

"Thanks, but it looks like your mum's going to need your help here thanks to the crowds we drew. If we need you I'll send an urgent, patronus message." Albus told his friend as he pushed his chair back. "Ready to brave the hordes, Scorpius?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

Albus grinned, not worried. "Just keep Phoenix with you and all will be well."

Scorpius nodded his head, taking the baby from Frankie with a soft thank you. Getting to his feet the Slytherin followed the Gryffindor through the pub, heading out to the brick wall. Cradling the boy against his chest Scorpius watched Albus use his wand to open the path to Diagon Alley, hoping there would be absolutely no reason for him to need to draw his.

)

At first everything went really well. They did get swarmed by people, but most of them just wanted to fuss over Phoenix and offer the boys parenting advice. As long as Scorpius was holding the baby the Slytherin became, at least in the eyes of Phoenix's now adoring fans, an extension of the baby and therefore acceptable company. Even those who had given him a dark or uneasy eye in the past spoke a few words to Scorpius, including him in their conversations with Albus and the baby. It was an interesting, sorta nice change of pace, but Scorpius wasn't fooling himself. He knew their attitudes were completely dependant upon his present company. Things would go back to normal without them, Scorpius was sure of it.

And he wasn't wrong to think so.

They were almost all the way through their errands when Scorpius gave into the looks Albus kept aiming towards the Quidditch store. Knowing the man well Scorpius handed Phoenix over to the Gryffindor. "You might as well take him in with you, Albus. You can introduce him to your beloved sport while I go into the stationary store and get that fancy parchment."

"You don't mind?" Albus asked, even as his eyes slid over in the direction of the store again. Phoenix was still too little for a kid broom, but it wouldn't hurt to pick one up, just in case. After all, it was only a matter of time before he and Scorpius argued about something, and then the kid would be old enough. It wouldn't hurt to be prepared.

"Go. I'll meet you outside the stationary store in fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes." Scorpius repeated firmly.

Albus grinned widely. "Fifteen minutes. Got it."

Waving the two of them off Scorpius smiled at their backs, fairly sure that the other man would be late. He knew how much the man loved the game and anything related to it after all. Albus would probably get caught up showing everything to Phoenix and completely lose track of time. No big though, he'd just go in and retrieve them, the Slytherin thought as he turned on his heels and walked the short distance to the stationary store.

Stepping inside Scorpius took note that the place was relatively empty, the old place smelling of freshly made paper and lemon polish. Walking down one of the aisles Scorpius was just about to pull out a tied stack of parchment when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end. Instinct had him turning, his stomach clenching as his eyes locked with Vincent Callendar.

The other man moved with the speed that made him a prized Chaser on the Gryffindor team. He had Scorpius backing up against the nearby wall within seconds, the man looking at the Slytherin like he was dirt beneath his shoes.

"Fancy meeting you here, Snake." The man drawled out, his hatred emanating from him like an aura.

"Callendar." He knew well the dangers of letting the man box him in, and so Scorpius tried to shift around the man, not realizing the man was allowing it until it was too late.

Reaching out the Gryffindor grabbed the man's wand arm and twisted it hard behind the Slytherin's back, forcing Scorpius back towards the wall, smashing the smaller man up against it.

"Going somewhere, Snake Boy? Don't want to chat with me? Cause you and I, we have a lot to talk about." The Gryffindor hissed, deliberately twisting harder, trying to make the man cry out from the pain.

But Scorpius knew that would only encourage the man, so he grinched his teeth and bore with it, refusing to make a sound.

Pissed as always by the Slytherin's stubborn refusal to break Vincent ached to twist harder, but knew he couldn't risk breaking the man's arm. At least not in a public place where someone might see them. Leaning forward the Gryffindor placed his lips against the Slytherin's ear. "Messing with my mate was a big mistake, Snake. Whatever you and your kind have planned, using that egg thing to stick him with you, you might as well give up on it now. You aren't laying one finger on him, you hearing me? Anything happens to Al while he's stuck dealing with you and I'll take it out of you in blood, got it?"

"I hear you." There was no point in telling the man he'd never harm Albus. The Gryffindor never heard anything he didn't want to hear. It was one of the things that made Callendar so dangerous.

Reaching out Callendar was about to use his free hand to bash the Slytherin's head into the wall for emphasis when a female voice stopped his raised hand.

"What is going on here?"

Turning his head at the sound Vincent mentally cursed a blue streak when his eyes met those of a stern looking redhead who looked to be about five years older than him. She was dressed in a suit that screamed Ministry worker, and after several moments the Gryffindor recognized her as Albus's cousin Molly. "Nothing you need to worry about."

"It is since you seem to be picking on a member of my family." Was the woman's cool response. "So unless you have a very good reason for what you're doing I suggest you let him go. Now."

Knowing better than to push it Callendar let the Slytherin go. They'd be back in school together soon enough after all. Plenty of time for more heart to heart chats with the Snake, the Gryffindor thought with a small smile as he moved away from the other man. Turning to face his prey Vincent made no effort to hide his thoughts as his eyes met the Slytherin's. "See you at school."

Molly watched the man turn and smile at her, politely bidding her goodbye before heading towards the front of the store, walking past her like he hadn't done a thing. She watched him go until he was out the door, then turned back to look at the Malfoy heir. It had to have hurt, she could see bruises already forming on the man's wrist, but the Slytherin hadn't made a sound. He hadn't tried to retaliate either. He'd just taken it.

Taken it like he was use to it.

He wouldn't meet her eyes either.

Walking over Molly's eyes willed him to meet her gaze. "Are you okay?"

Scorpius's nod was a curt, his bruised arm pressed up against his chest while he fought back the urge to cradle it. "Thanks for your help. Sorry to bother you."

"It wasn't a bother. What are you doing here anyway?"

Scorpius forced himself to act normal, pointing in the direction of the paper he'd come to get with his good hand. "I just came to pick up some more writing paper. I'll let you get back to whatever you came here to do." Moving forward Scorpius picked up the shopping bags he'd dropped and then grabbed the paper he'd been looking at earlier, not checking to make sure it was the right kind or counting the number of pages he picked up. Walking around the woman Scorpius went to the front to pay for the paper, keenly aware of her eyes on him.

Paper purchased Scorpius walked out the door, surprised to see Albus coming towards him.

"He started whimpering and fussing about five minutes ago." Albus explained as he stopped in front of his roommate. "I figured he was missing you. Are you okay?" He added, sensing that something was wrong. Scorpius face was shut down, completely unreadable.

"His arm should be looked over." Molly informed her cousin, coming up from behind Scorpius.

"His arm?" Albus gave his tattletale, know it all cousin a questioning look before turning his attention back to Scorpius, studying the man's arms. Seeing the bruising that was starting to form Albus shifted the bags he was holding, giving Molly a grateful look when she plucked Phoenix out of his arms. Reaching out Albus gave the Slytherin a dark look when the other man stepped back defensively. "Let me see." Following the man Albus gently took the man's arm, turning it carefully as he got a look at the pattern of bruising. "How the hell did you manage this?" The marks almost looked like…like fingers.

"Your friend Vincent Callendar jumped him in the store, and twisted his arm behind his back. Any harder and he might have popped it out of his shoulder." Molly informed Albus, preferring always to be the first to relay any piece of information. "I scared him off." She added with a self satisfied smile.

"What? Vince? Vince wouldn't do that. What did you say to him to piss him off?" Albus asked Scorpius, even as his gut twisted at her words.

"I exist." Was Scorpius's soft reply. And since he had no intention of explaining himself or his long and painful history with Callendar Scorpius turned and ignoring the pain lifted Phoenix out of Molly's surprised arms and into his. "We still have one last stop to make. Do you want to stay here and talk to your cousin? I can meet you back here."

Albus shook his head. "No. No we stick together on this."

"Then let's go."

"Okay."

)

Albus came out of the bathroom that night with a towel around his neck and what felt like the weight of the world on his shoulders. He'd spent a good hour soaking and was no closer to relaxing than he'd been when he got in. Normally baths did it for him, but at the moment Albus was fairly sure sleep was going to be a long time coming.

Scorpius wouldn't talk to him.

The man had barely said more than a couple sentences since they'd gotten back from Diagon Alley. He'd tried to talk to the Slytherin about what had happened in the stationary store but Scorpius had refused to give his side of the story. And since Molly had no reason to lie Albus knew that he'd probably been a real ass when he'd asked the Slytherin what he'd done, like the other man had brought the bruises on himself. That hadn't been how he'd meant it, he'd just been so surprised and taken off guard. Vince was his friend after all.

A friend who'd been one of the three he'd known wouldn't take kindly to Scorpius becoming a part of his circle of friends, Albus thought as ran an agitated hand through his damp hair. Vince's mother had been badly scarred during The Siege at Hogwarts and it had…left lasting scars on her that were as much mental as they were physical. She'd let what had happened to her twist her, so that his Uncle Ron said there was little trace of the girl he'd dated before he'd hooked up with Aunt Hermione. And she'd taught her son to hate Slytherins and Death Eaters as much as she did. He knew that…but he hadn't thought the man would attack Scorpius without reason.

Which was apparently what had happened.

And now he had to wonder if this wasn't the first time Vince had 'jumped' Scorpius without provocation.

Walking into their bedroom Albus paused in the doorway, taking in the situation. Scorpius was lying on his bed with Phoenix on his T-shirt covered stomach, the Slytherin reading the boy a book. Their son still had his teddy bear hat on, and Scorpius hand one hand on the baby's stomach to keep Phoenix in place.

Without thinking about what he was doing Albus walked over to the bed and taking a seat on the bed scooted over, lying beside the Slytherin on his side.

Stumbling over his words Scorpius turned his head, grey eyes silently asking the Gryffindor what he was doing.

"I want to hear the story too."

Scorpius stared at the other man for several long moments before he slowly turned his attention back to the story, forcing himself to concentrate on what he was doing. And because he didn't want to talk to the man about what had happened earlier Scorpius kept right on reading, moving from story to story until he'd had read ever fairytale in the book. Only then did he Scorpius allow himself to glance once more at the man lying beside him on his bed.

Who was now fast asleep.

Surprised as heck Scorpius set the book down on his other side and reached out to poke the Gryffindor a couple of times in the chest. When that got no reaction the Slytherin flattened his hand against the man's chest, pushing harder this time.

Albus's response was to teeter in place, shocking the hell out of Scorpius by falling forward so that the man's lips were pressed up against the other man's cheek, his arm across the Slytherin's waist.

Eyes as huge as Phoenix's had been over the hat, Scorpius froze for several heartbeats. Slowly lifting his hand off Phoenix's stomach, Scorpius brought his hand to his cheek, pinching himself hard.

Huh. Well that was strange.

Now what was he supposed to do?

The thoughts that occurred to him had him feeling very, very Slytherin.


	13. Bonding In Bed

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the storyline. Thanks for reading.

Bonding In Bed

Scorpius stared at the sleeping Gryffindor, poking the man a couple more times with his finger to double check that Albus was indeed out for the count. Yup, definitely out for the count, Scorpius surmised. He could do as he wanted without the man's knowledge. And since his thoughts were far from pure Scorpius couldn't help but blush like a maniac while he dithered with his weakening conscience. And his thoughts had the Slytherin very carefully reaching down and moving Albus's hand back onto the other man's side.

Edging away with Phoenix cradled against him Scorpius slid off the bed, heading for the baby's cradle with a slightly unsteady gait. Setting the sleeping infant down Scorpius decided to leave the boy's hat on, adding the baby's bear for good measure.

Once that task was taken care of Scorpius walked back over to stand over Albus, carefully pulling the covers out from under the still sleeping Gryffindor. When that was accomplished without Albus so much as stirring Scorpius lifted the covers up and over the Gryffindor, tucking the man in and removing the man's glasses too.

That accomplished Scorpius made his way around to stand on his side of the bed. It was the moment of truth.

Just how Slytherin was he prepared to be?

Pulling back the covers Scorpius slid under them, scooting over until he was within a foot of the other man. Reaching out the Slytherin very slowly slid his thumb around the bottom of the man's lower lip, feeling very daring. He literally ached to press his lips there too, but he couldn't do it. He couldn't do that without the other man's awareness. That would be crossing the line. Not to mention it would haunt him later, knowing what he'd never have. It was bad enough thinking he knew how wonderful it would be, the reality would probably be devastating given what he'd heard girls say about the Gryffindor's snogging technique.

Plus, knowing his luck, the man would think he was snogging Naomi or some other girl.

His day had been depressing enough without Albus calling him a girl's name, destroying the fantasy completely.

So instead he contented himself with tracing the man's facial features with seeking fingers, learning every dip and curve with loving care. Taking a few strands of the Gryffindor's hair between his fingers Scorpius rubbed the smooth strands between them before tucking the hair behind the man's ear.

Moving in closer, so that they were nearly chest to chest, Scorpius reached out and retrieved the man's arm once more, bringing it back to his waist. That his T-shirt had ridden up so that Albus's hand now rested on bare skin was an unexpected bonus.

Shifting his head onto the same pillow as the Gryffindor Scorpius smiled, and after several more long looks closed his eyes too.

Whatever the Gryffindor said in the morning, it would be worth it.

)

At seven, as always, Albus's eyes started to flicker open, the Gryffindor's senses processing several things at once. The scents of sandalwood, night blooming jasmine, and something else that was faintly familiar to him. He could also feel soft, smooth skin under his fingers and slow, even breathing against his face. His overall senses also relayed the fact that there was someone else with him whose body was all but pressed up against his. And that body was not familiar to him. Freezing as that knowledge registered in his brain Albus's mind threw off the lingering sleep as he frantically blinked in the direction of the figure lying so close to him, blurry without his glasses.

But even without being able to bring the other person into focus Albus knew who was sleeping beside him.

Scorpius.

He was in a bed with Scorpius Malfoy.

His hand was currently lying on bare, male, Slytherin skin.

What the hell?

Struggling to figure out what had happened Albus belatedly remembered the night before and climbing into Scorpius's bed to try, in a manly sort of way, to get across the Slytherin that they were a unit. He must have fallen asleep, Albus realized, pulling his hand off of Scorpius's skin as he belatedly realized he had yet to move it. He had fallen asleep and Scorpius had opted to share the bed rather than take his. The man had behaved similarly when he'd stayed at his place, refusing his offer to take the air mattress instead.

One of them had cuddled up against the other in sleep.

Going with instinct Albus turned around to lie on his other side, reaching out towards the nearby nightstand. Feeling around the Gryffindor's hand closed around his glasses, which the Slytherin had thoughtfully set out for him. Sliding them back on Albus appreciated the clarity of vision as he turned back around to face the sleeping man beside him.

The man's hair was sticking out all over the place again like the dandelion fluff Gabrielle had compared it to before. It really was cute, Albus was glad their son had inherited the trait. Instinctively reaching out he tried to smooth the strands down, not really surprised when the Slytherin's hair just shot back up again. His hair was the same way at the back.

Smiling at the thought Albus's eyes studied the man's face, noting the pale perfection of it.

No wonder the girls tended to dislike Scorpius, they probably envied him that. Amused at the thought Albus made a mental note to ask one of his Veela cousins how they felt about the fact that the Malfoy heir apparently had better skin then they did. It was always fun to watch them take offense to the idea that anyone could possess a physical attribute superior to their own.

Amused with himself Albus was about to leave the bed when the Slytherin's sleepy eyes drifted open to half mast, meeting his own. "Morning."

"Morning." Scorpius replied, still half asleep, his lips curving into a soft, almost loving smile.

Albus blinked several times behind his glasses, the smile sending a jolt of electricity through his body, stunning him with its intensity.

Belatedly waking up enough to realize the situation he was in Scorpius blinked several times, struggling to orient himself and regain full conscious thought. "Uhm…you fell asleep." The Slytherin said slowly, trying not to look as guilty as hell.

"So I figured. Sorry about that." Albus smiled at the other man sheepishly, doing his best to sound as nonchalant as possible. He had to stop having these kind of reactions to the other man's physical features, he sternly told himself. Not only were they totally wrong given the Slytherin's gender, but it was just…unsettling as hell given who he was having them for. And since they were going to be together for a very long time, it was sort of essential that he not develop some sort of weird physical reaction to the other man's presence.

Realizing that Albus was blaming himself for their present circumstances Scorpius was more than willing to play along. "It's okay. You don't snore."

Laughing at the comment Albus smiled and reached out to ruffle the man's well tousled hair. "You don't either apparently."

Enjoying the show of affection and working hard not to show it, Scorpius opted to keep things light. "So I guess my reading put you to sleep, huh?"

"You have a soothing voice." Albus agreed. "And I'm sorry I didn't get to say all the things I meant to say yesterday. I was going to wait until you were done reading." And seeing the words already forming on the Slytherin's lips Albus reached out to place his finger over the man's lips. "Let me get this out. What I said to you outside the stationary store, I said it wrong and you took it wrong. If you say that Vince jumped you in the store than I believe you. I'm sorry if I made you think otherwise."

"He's your friend." Scorpius pointed out. "It's only naturally that you would take his word over mine. I know it's nothing personal."

"And as such I know how he feels about Death Eaters and your family in particular. I just didn't know his control was so weak that he'd started actually attacking you for…fun. But do know how aggressive he is compared to you. You would barely hurt a fly without a good reason."

Scorpius lips curved into a small smile. "I'll have you know I've swatted my fair share of flies in the past."

"You know what I mean." Albus returned, though he had to smile a little. "But what's important is that you understand that when we see him next, either at school or Diagon Alley, I'm going to make it clear to him that he isn't to lay a finger on you. And that if he does…well he'll be the one walking away with bruises. If he's in any condition to walk away that is."

"You don't have to-."

"Yeah, yeah I do. Because you're family now, and family always trumps friends. Even good friends."

Scorpius didn't know what to say to that. Everything that came to mind was too girlie for words.

So Albus asked the question he had been dreading. "Does he…does Vince make it a habit to do what he did? Hurt you I mean?"

That was not a question Scorpius wanted to answer. He didn't want the other man to think him some pathetic weakling, because that honestly wasn't why he let the man get away with all the crap he pulled. He sucked it up because one, people would always take Callendar's word over his, the second being that he hoped, for the Gryffindor's sake, that the man would eventually realize that he was only becoming what he professed to hate. A person who would hate someone for no other reason than the blood that ran through their veins. By not fighting back, by not stooping to the man's level, he hoped to force the Gryffindor to see the truth of his actions.

Gabrielle said that Callendar had given him one too many blows to the head, to believe that was possible.

Reading the answer in the Slytherin's eyes Albus's green darkened dangerously. He hadn't known, and would have put a stop to it earlier if had he. But he was sure as hell going to put a stop to it now.

And seeing that look, understanding that he had a protector whether he liked it or not, Scorpius couldn't help but go all gooey over the idea.

)

Later that day Lily showed up with the guitar her brother had requested she retrieve from their attic and a bunch of food their grandmother insisted the boys had to have. There were also some recipes, Lily informed Scorpius, that her Gran had wanted him to have since apparently he was now the cook in the family when Tomo wasn't in. They were Albus's favorite foods, she informed the Slytherin with a teasing wink.

Still not quite sure what to make of the girl, and unable to shake the feeling that she saw more than he was comfortable with, Scorpius took the recipes and than made himself scarce.

As soon as he was out of the room Lily turned her full attention to her brother. "So you should know Molly's running her mouth off about yesterday. I don't think anyone in our family hasn't heard what happened yet."

"He is not going to like that."

Lily gave him a look that said she thought he was an idiot for stating the obvious. "Well we'll all have him covered and that's the main thing. No way that prick gets past us to Scorpius." She added, punching her fist into her hand. "I'll maim him beyond recognition for messing with my new bro."

"New bro?"

"Well new brother in law." Lily slyly suggested.

Albus's lips twitched. "He and I would have to be married for that to be the case, you know."

"Good point. And I'd be pretty pissed if you didn't invite me to the wedding. You will invite me, right? Cause you'd be a real ass if you didn't. I won't even tell Mum and Dad what you're doing until afterwards. Heck, I'll even be the messenger."

Shaking his head, Albus could only marvel at the strange workings of his sister's brain. "James and I dropped you too many times on your head as a baby. Now we're all paying for it."

"Reap what you sow, Big bro." Was her agreeable response before she turned her attention to Phoenix, who was lying on his colorful blanket. "Has he gotten bigger?"

Albus turned to study his boy. "I hope not. But he was upset yesterday."

Lily knelt down, tugging teasingly on the baby's hat flap. She was amused when the baby looked at her in disgruntlement, obviously not appreciating the hat touching. "So he knows when one of you guys is hurt or upset. That's sorta cool."

"Not if it makes him upset. And not if I have to spend the first term kicking ass on top of that."

"Nah, with all of us kicking ass it shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks at most." Lily countered with a gleam in her eyes. "Especially if I borrow some Beater bats."

"Do I want to know what you two are talking about?" Scorpius asked as he came back into the room with a tray. On it were three glasses of lemonade and some biscuits he'd liberated from the kitchen. He'd come in on that last sentence and didn't think it was a good idea for Lily to be borrowing Beater bats. Bad things probably happened when she started swinging pieces of wood around.

"I'm going to use Beater bats to keep people back when you and Albus get married. I'm going to be in charge of crowd control."

Scorpius fumbled, nearly dropping the tray on his feet. Reflexes kicking in just in time the Slytherin managed to keep the tray even. "Excuse me?"

Albus gave her an annoyed look. "Don't mind her, we've already established she's brain damaged."

Not quite sure how to take that Scorpius walked over to the nearest table to set the tray down, not wanting to risk dropping it again. One never knew what was going to come out of Lily's mouth after all. Picking up his own glass Scorpius walked over to sit in front of Phoenix while the Potters helped themselves to what he'd brought.

Biting into a biscuit Albus smiled his thanks.

"Thanks." Enjoying the lemonade and the situation in general, Lily sat down beside Scorpius, wrapping her arm around the Slytherin's shoulder. "So, Bro, heard you got into a fight with Callendar. Don't worry, we'll set him straight."

Scorpius stared at the girl. "I'm your brother now?"

"Yup. Deal with it."

Blinking Scorpius looked over as Albus took a seat on his other side. "I don't have a say in that?"

Albus gave him a pitying look. "Not in her mind you don't."

A horrifying thought occurring to Scorpius the Slytherin looked at Albus with just a hint of fear in his eyes. "You aren't going to start calling me Bro too, are you?"

Not quite sure what to make of the man's reaction, but sure that the man did NOT want to be considered his brother, Albus gave the man a reassuring look and wink. "No worries, I know you're not my brother. She's calling you bro because you're like a brother in law, not a brother."

"Oh."

Well that was okay then.

)

After Lily had left for the day Albus took out the guitar he'd got her to bring and started strumming it, helping Phoenix run his little fingers over the strings when the baby reached out to try and play too. It didn't produce much sound, but the baby seemed to like it and prevented Albus from actually playing the instrument by insisting on trying to play it himself.

Amused by the baby's enjoyment of plucking the strings Albus and Scorpius took turns helping Phoenix twang away.

"So you actually know how to play this thing?" Scorpius asked, smiling as Phoenix giggled away at the sounds he was causing the instrument to make.

"Just the easy stuff. I didn't really apply myself the way I probably should have." Albus confessed with a shrug. "Davey wanted to teach me, and I have a hard time saying no to him. Especially when I figured he'd give up soon enough. I do find it sorta relaxing though, just strumming, not even really playing anything. Maybe that's why I was never interested in playing in a band. I prefer to relax to music, not work my ass off trying to perfect it too."

"Well you were nice to at least try."

Albus smile turned into a slightly rakish grin. "I might have been bribed a little too. Davey has quite a spiel about how girls fancy musicians."

"I'll bet." Scorpius did his best to keep his voice light, all the while thinking that he'd take the man if he were absolutely tone deaf.

"Yeah." His gaze turning thoughtful Albus started strumming at the top of the instrument, ignoring the occasional twank from Phoenix. "You know I got a letter from Naomi a couple days ago. She apologized for what happened, wants to get back together again. She asked me over to her place to talk things over and stuff."

Scorpius's eyelashes dropped down to hide his reaction to the Gryffindor's casual statement. "So you're going out tonight?"

"Naw. I turned her down." Sensing the questions in the man's body language Albus blew out a breath, his fingers moving faster over the strings. "I was all set to write her back, say yes, when I realized that I hadn't really missed her all that much this past week. We've been busy, I know, but still…given how long we've been together I should have missed her more than I did. I didn't tell her that though…so if she or anyone asks I've just decided to devote myself to making our family work and don't have time for other distractions. I don't want to hurt her feelings. And I do like hanging with you guys best it seems."

"Your secret is safe with me."


	14. PeekABoo Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters end up in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy.

Peek-A-Boo Bond

Lying on his stomach Phoenix slapped his hands down on his colorful blanket, loving the way the blanket reacted to his touch by shooting off rays of color all around his hands like starbursts. The brilliant and bright colors reminded him of the colors around the people in his life, which appealed to him a great deal. Looking up from his position the little boy studied the two other occupants in the room, hard at working doing a familiar chore than involved their pretty feathers and the strange white squares his parents said he could color on when he got older. Phoenix wasn't sure exactly what coloring was, but their tone had indicated he would enjoy the activity immensely.

His parents were such pretty colors, Phoenix thought as he watched them, enjoying their bright hues even more than the ones the blanket made. The one with hair not like his had colors that were always very bright and bold, while his parent with hair like his had colors that were softer shades, and he sometimes had colors Phoenix instinctively associated with sadness and longing. But there weren't any sad colors around him at the moment because his light haired parent was always happiest when the dark haired parent was around and smiling.

Turning his head when the machine that made sounds stopped, Phoenix wondered what the strange box would be playing next. Sometimes it was music that made him be still and content, other times it made sounds that made him move instinctively and want to bounce around. He liked it best though when the sounds came from his dark haired parent's grown up toy that he was allowed to make sounds with sometimes.

As Phoenix watched the creature everyone called Tomo appeared near the sound machine and took the black disk off it, replacing it with another. Dark haired parent said something to Tomo, though Phoenix wasn't sure what the words meant. The creature liked the words though, and smiled as new sounds came from the machine.

He liked Tomo. Her colors were very pretty too. They weren't like the other creature who looked like her but wasn't her. The other one was very sad and tired, his colors faded and almost lifeless. The thing inside him that made the colors was going to leave the creature soon. Phoenix could feel it. He would be sad when that happened.

The little boy frowned at the idea, wishing there was some way he could make the other creatures colors light and happy like Tomo's.

Next thing he knew Phoenix found himself on his back with Tomo leaning over him with a familiar gleam in her huge eyes. Sensing that they were going to play one of their favorite games the little boy clapped his hands as he wiggled with glee. Somehow, and he had yet to figure out quite how she did it, Tomo could raise her hand and everything would go dark so that he couldn't see anything, though he felt them. And then, when she raised her hand again, he could see her and everything else around him perfectly.

Oh how he loved this game.

)

Turning their heads at the sound of Phoenix's laughter Scorpius and Albus smiled as they watched Tomo play her version of peek-a-boo with the baby. As far as she was concerned there was no point in covering her own eyes, and Phoenix seemed to find it deliriously funny to have his eyes covered instead. But then again it wasn't terribly hard to entertain someone not yet one either. Everything was new and fascinating to them. And best of all, since Phoenix wasn't remotely interested in food, the baby was unlikely to express his interest by shoving those new and fascinating things in his mouth.

Putting his quill aside for the moment Albus watched the two play, tempted to ditch the work completely and join them. But it wasn't fair to leave Scorpius to write all the replies, even though the man had much better handwriting then him and turned out thank you letters that were way more eloquent than his own.

Sensing the other man's thoughts Scorpius just managed to bite back a grin of his own. "Why don't you take a break and join them."

Meeting the Slytherin's gaze Albus marveled not for the first time at how easy the Slytherin seemed to find reading him so long as his thoughts had nothing to do with the man himself. Then Scorpius often misunderstood him to a rather depressing degree. But when it came to everything else it was like he was an open book. Not that he generally made much of an effort to hide his thoughts and feelings, but the other man was unusually perceptive, like he knew all his tells already somehow.

"You need a break?" Albus countered, not about to take a break if Scorpius wasn't.

Getting that the man was determined to match him thank you note for thank you note Scorpius put aside his quill as well, though he could have kept going for a while yet. But one never knew what tomorrow would bring so it was always important to appreciate the small things. Pushing his chair back Scorpius rose to his feet, subtly working the kinks out of his body while Albus abandoned his work like a slave freed from his labors.

Walking over to join them Scorpius sat beside them while Tomo and Albus took turns covering the baby's eyes before revealing themselves once more. Content to just watch Scorpius could only hope things went well the next day. They would be going to Hogwarts to plead their case and their futures all hinged very much on what was decided. If they weren't allowed to bring Phoenix with them than they would remain where they were and hope that at some point in the future they'd be able to finish their education. If they were allowed they were going to have to figure out how to get that education without neglecting their son in the process. And that was so not happening, Scorpius thought as he reached out to stroke one chubby cheek. Phoenix was going to have the best childhood he and Albus could provide their son with.

That was something they would always be able to agree on.

)

Stepping back Albus studied the dressing job they'd just done the next day. "I don't know." He began thoughtfully, crossing his arms as he studied the baby bouncing up and down on Scorpius's lap. "Maybe we should go more for the cute look, you know really play that up. Since the Headmaster has apparently called in the school governors we need to win them over too. If we went uber cute for him we could probably use him to brainwash all the women there to let us bring Phoenix to Hogwarts with us. A little insurance if you know what I mean."

"He is wearing the hat." Scorpius reminded the Gryffindor, looking down at the baby. "And he looks cute in that and his little teddy bear tie."

"I suppose." And the kid was a boy after all. Albus figured that Phoenix wouldn't appreciate them dressing up too cutesy too often. His own mother had pictures of him that she often blackmailed him with. He didn't want to do the same to his son…unless the kid somehow got turned into a juvenile delinquent. Than those pictures would come in real handy, Albus thought with a slightly evil grin.

Scorpius cocked his head to the side, wondering what was going through the other man's mind. He probably didn't want to know. "We should be heading downstairs. Our parents will be here any minute to pick us up."

"Good point." Fiddling with his tie Albus hoped they were right to wear their school uniforms. They were hoping it would send the right message that they were still students of the school and should be allowed to finish their last year after slaving away for the prior six.

Plus their mothers had made it clear that they'd have to wear a tie anyway.

Scorpius shifted Phoenix over to one side, holding the boy against his chest as he got to his feet. "If you keep yanking on that you'll mess it up."

A gleam coming into his eyes Albus moved over and gave the Slytherin's tie a teasing tug. "There, now we match."

Shaking his head Scorpius walked over to the nearby mirror, studying the damage Albus had caused. Knowing his mother the way he did Scorpius turned around and handed his son over so that he could properly fix his tie. His mother would not be pleased if she saw him looking less than perfectly put together. After adjusting his often Scorpius moved without thinking, fixing Albus as well while the Gryffindor smirked in amusement. Realizing what he'd done Scorpius flushed a little, taking Phoenix back from the other man.

"Thanks." Albus drawled out, enjoying Scorpius's humorous behavior. He was really starting to find the other boy's habit of blushing adorable. Plus it confirmed that the Slytherin wasn't as together as he seemed which was comforting, since he still came close to having panic attacks when he thought about the situation they'd so unexpectedly found themselves in.

"You're welcome." Scorpius mumbled, sensing the other man's enjoyment of his blushing. He didn't know why the Gryffindor found it so amusing when he most definitely did not. He'd give a great deal not to blush like an idiot when the other man was close to him.

Cutting the guy a break Albus herded them all out of the room and down the stairs, the three opting to wait outside on the front steps so that they could enjoy the sun while they waited. They didn't have to wait long since Scorpius's parents were anally on time and Albus's parents and sister arrived only moments after them.

Commandeering her only grandson Astoria cuddle the boy against her, pleased to see him looking so happy and adorable. Not that any grandson of hers could ever look less than adorable no matter what he was wearing, she thought smugly.

Content to wait her turn Ginny hugged her son and greeted Scorpius while the two older men watched each other warily while greeting their respective offspring.

Amused by the whole situation Lily hugged both of her 'brothers' and grinned at them. "Don't worry, guys, I come prepared to argue your case."

Scorpius and Albus shared a look that said that neither of them was entirely sure that that was a good thing, but both were well aware of the fact that they wouldn't be able to stop her either way. Lily was like a force of nature that no one could really control. And trying to control her often caused your house to fall down. On top of you.

"Oh ye of little faith." Lily shot back, reading their expressions perfectly. "Now let's get this show on the road, don't want to be late."

)

Since there was no way in hell they were taking a baby on the Knight Bus, even if the Malfoys had agreed to it, they all opted to simply transport themselves to Hogsmeade and from there walk up to the castle. It was a perfect summer day after all and fresh air was good for the baby. Astoria had brought a parasol to protect her and Phoenix from the hot sun and the rest were smart enough to get the vibe that she wasn't handing her grandson over until she was good and ready.

So they all headed up the familiar path to Hogwarts, the sight of them all together quite the sight to see. Hagrid and Neville, who'd been waiting for them, had to admit they'd never thought they'd see the day where Harry's family and Draco's family could stand to be so close without going at each other like very wet cats in a very small sack.

"Wotcher, Harry, Ginny. The rest of you." Neville said as he raised a hand in greeting. He'd thankfully reached the point where the sight of Draco Malfoy no longer scared him, but he couldn't help but be uneasy in the man's company just the same.

"Hello, Neville, Hagrid." Ginny called out, smiling at Hagrid's greetings as well. "So are the governors all here yet?"

Hagrid shook his great head at the question. "Not yet as far as I know. When we left there was still three left to arrive. Why the Headmaster had to go and call them in is beyond me. They should just let the little one come with the boys, I say. What harm could he do after all, and with everyone ready to help the boys with him."

They were all hoping they could convince the governors and headmaster of precisely that.

"Oh and…uhh…." All but shuffling his huge feet it was obvious that Hagrid was a little flustered by what he was about to say. "The…uh…the creatures of the forest heard that you lot were bringin the boy with ye and they were hopin…would ye mind bringin him down to the forest so that they could meet the little fellow? Apparently it's a big deal for them, meetin someone like him."

They were all instantly uneasy at the idea, even Lily. For as much as she loved her Uncle Hagrid the man loved creatures she most certainly didn't want near her nephew.

"Exactly which creatures want to meet Phoenix, Hagrid?" Harry asked after shooting Draco a warning look, taking note that Astoria was also clutching the baby closer to her than she'd been earlier protectively.

Hagrid counted them off on his fingers as he recited. "Well the centaurs of course, and the unicorns. Unicorns and Children of Souls have a long history together, they do. Some of the Acromantulas wanted to come but I said no on account of them trying to eat you and Ron that time, Harry. Said that you wouldn't be wantin the baby near them till he was a mite bigger."

Turning his head Scorpius hissed in Albus's ear. "He is not meeting the Acromantulas. Ever."

Albus nodded back in complete agreement.

"And I've told Grawp all about him of course, so he'll be wantin to get a look see." Hagrid continued, smiling away at the mention of his younger brother. "The Thestrals would probably like to meet Phoenix too, and the house elves are real eager according to the Headmaster. Oh, and Firenze said how some of the other little creatures would probably drop by to see him too, even though they can't tell me so. They'll all be waitin by my hut for the meetin to end if that's all right with you."

"They just want to look at him?" Astoria asked warily, not trusting for a moment that the half giant would be able to keep all the beasts in line if they wanted more than just a glimpse of her precious grandson.

"That's my take, yes. Though the unicorns and thestrals will probably want to smell him too."

Lips twitching a little at the idea of his son being sniffed over Albus turned his head to look at Scorpius questioningly. "I think it would be all right. I mean we'll all be there if something goes wrong."

Scorpius wasn't thrilled with the idea, but with the exception of the gamekeeper's half brother the Slytherin couldn't see the inhabitants of the forest as posing a particular threat. Well the centaurs maybe, but they didn't attack children and they would be on Hogwarts turf as well. "I suppose it would be okay then, after the meeting."

"Even one misbehaves and the introductions end." Draco said firmly, his voice broking no argument.

Agreeing to that Hagrid promised to pass the word along.

When they entered the castle they were all taken aback to see the ghosts of Hogwarts lined up in a row expectantly. Even Peeves was there, still for once as he hovered with the rest of the school's ghosts.

"Forgive us for ambushing you this way." The Grey Lady said softly, moving forward a little to explain why they were there. "When we heard about what had happened they didn't know what a Child of Souls was. After I explained it to them they were all very anxious to meet him. As they no doubt told you your son will one day be able to affect positive emotions and memories in other living creatures. We don't have outer shells though, so we can already be affected by him if he touches us. We won't feel cold to him." She added, knowing that would discourage them from letting Phoenix touch them.

Taking the baby from Astoria Albus held the boy out towards the ghosts as far as he could. "We're in a bit of a hurry so everyone can take a quick touch, fingers only. And if he doesn't like it you have to stop." He added sternly.

Taking the Gryffindor at his word the ghosts swarmed around the baby, who just grinned and stayed still as the ghosts reached out to touch him, their fingers not passing through him the way they would a regular human being. Both Albus and Scorpius shivered as the ghosts brushed up against them accidentally, but they stayed where they were. The looks on the faces of the ghosts spoke of deep, happy emotion. Even Myrtle and the Bloody Baron were smiling when they drew back.

"I could hear my mother singing me to sleep as a child." The Friar sighed as he looked at the baby lovingly.

"I remembered playing with my dog, Scraps." Nearly Headless Nick chimed in. "He was such a good dog."

The Grey Lady smiled softly. "I remember what it feels like to have the sun on my face, the wind in my hair. I'd forgotten."

Peeves grinned evilly as he gave Phoenix a little bow of thanks. "Peevie remembers all the fun he's had tormenting students over the centuries."

Everyone rolled their eyes, that not surprising them in the least.

And Phoenix just laughed and waved at his ghostly friends.


	15. Presenting the Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters end up in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy.

Presenting the Bond

The Malfoys and Potters were escorted to the Great Hall by the school's ghosts and Neville, Hagrid going off to make arrangements for Phoenix's later introduction to the creatures of the Forbidden Forest. When they entered the room it was to find that the usual house tables were gone save for the long one at the front of the room that was reserved for the teachers and Headmaster. For the moment it was being used by the school governors and the headmaster, who were already seated and waiting for them. Chairs had been placed in front of them, a couple more appearing once the Headmaster saw that Lily and Neville would be joining them.

Albus and Scorpius took the seats that were in the dead center, their parents taking seats beside them with Lily's taking the seat beside Astoria so that Neville could take the one beside Ginny. Phoenix sat on Albus's lap and looked up at the main table's occupants with interest.

The ghosts chose to hover directly behind them, careful not to brush against the humans accidentally.

"Now that everyone is here we can begin." The Headmaster began from his center seat at the head table. "As you all know we are here to decide whether or not it should be permited for Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy to bring with them to school a minor child for the span of their seventh year here at Hogwarts."

As soon as he paused for breath Lily's hand was in the air. "I would like to approach the bench please, Your Honor, Headmaster."

Raising an eyebrow at her words, his new title, and knowing her slightly warped personality well, the headmaster warily nodded his permission, hoping he wouldn't regret it. "What would you like to say, Miss. Potter?"

Getting to her feet Lily opened the satchel she'd brought with her, and retrieved several sheets of parchment. After making sure she had them all the Gryffindor walked over to the main table, setting her 'evidence' in front of the headmaster. "I have here a petition, signed by over a quarter of the school's population this coming year, stating that they have no objections to my brother and Scorpius bringing Phoenix to school with them. I also have another petition here with over fifty signatures of those willing to provide babysitting services if the boys get into a pinch during the two terms due to school work. I would also point out that most everyone is on holidays at the moment and I would have gotten more signatures if that weren't the case. I also had less than a week to put this together." She added, just in case.

"I'm also willing to cut back or forgo my studies if it becomes necessary as well." Scorpius said softly, drawing attention to himself as he got to his feet. "It's necessary for Phoenix to be with us, it's painful all around otherwise. He will be well cared for at all time and supervised. Albus and I don't intend to ask for any special privileges other than permission to bring our son with us to school and to be allowed to share a room so that we can care for him together and keep him from being a disruption to others."

"You can give my position as Head Boy to another Prefect, and if it becomes necessary I'll quit the Quidditch team as well." Albus piped up, also getting to his feet as he cradled the baby against him. "We don't know what our schedules are going to be like, but Scorpius and I will find a way to make it work. He and I don't have all the same classes, and it's not possible that we wouldn't be able to find someone among my relatives and our friends who could watch him if absolutely necessary."

One of the older governors looked down at them through his huge spectacles. "And you boys think you are equal to the task with little help from mature adults? The teachers cannot be expected to take on your responsibilities if it becomes too much for you to handle."

"If we can't handle it then you have our words we'll leave Hogwarts and continue to raise our son to the best of our abilities." Was Albus's firm, convincing reply. "The Headmaster will have informed you of our excellent academic records, we're not slackers who don't know how to manage our time or get the job done. We have no intention of falling behind or using our son as an excuse if, for some reason, that were to happen."

"I did some research before coming and from everything I've read the child would only be a positive influence on the school." A female governor pointed out this time, smiling down at the baby, who waved at her. "The signatures Miss. Potter gathered are not just from Gryffindor, but other houses as well. And as Mr. Malfoy is a Slytherin I expect there are those in his house who would give their support as well had Miss. Potter approached them. The child, by its nature, is supposed to promote love and goodwill, and could serve as a bridge between all houses for the betterment of the school."

With the exception of Gabrielle Scorpius couldn't think of a single person in his house he would trust Phoenix with, but wisely decided not to say so.

"And if the students have no problem with the child then I fail to see why we should. The ghosts are here to lend their support, and the Headmaster has indicated that a number of the boys' teachers have stated their support and even willingness to give the boys leniency if they have to miss a few classes because of the child." Another governor said in a reedy voice, wheezing a little from the effort. "I think the two should be commended for wishing to finish their educations even though they'd been handed an excuse to quit."

One by one the governors gave their positive position, only two of them stating any objections at all. But they were overruled in the end, and after some back and forth it was decided that the boys would be allowed to bring Phoenix to Hogwarts for the school year provided no major incidents occurred. The general consensus between the Potters and Malfoys was that the governors and the Headmaster had held the meeting just so that they could say they hadn't just given the boys a free pass without even discussing the matter.

So the matter, for the time being, was settled.

)

Once the governors and the Headmaster had had their chance to meet Phoenix and fuss over his sheer adorableness, the Potters and Malfoys left the castle and headed down the hill that led to Hagrid's hut. They were about half way down said hill when they caught sight of the number of creatures that were waiting at the edge of the forest for them. There were the centaurs, Grawp, the Thestrals and unicorns as promised, but there were also numerous other creatures. A lot of other creatures.

"Okay." Having anticipated something like this Harry did what came natural and took charge. "All right, Hagrid said he would set up a bench for the boys. Boys, you'll sit on it with Phoenix, Draco and I will flank you. The girls will be directly behind us, Lily in the middle. Neville, you can go wherever you think you need to be. Something goes wrong, baby is passed behind to Lily who will take off to the castle with him while the rest of us close ranks and keep the rest at bay. Understood?"

Draco wanted to argue just because he hated the idea of taking an order from the other man, but he couldn't think of a better way to handle things. And this was his grandson's personal safety they were talking about. "Fine."

"I'll be faster than a speeding bullet." Lily promised.

"Astoria and I will kick their furry asses once they get through you boys." Ginny drawled out with a wink in her husband's direction.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Wife."

As planned the two boys took the seat on the bench, the others forming a protective semi circle around them in case any of the creatures watching them so intently tried anything. It was weird to see so many so close, especially to each other since many of them had been known to eat the other. But they were all calm and quiet for the moment, all their attentions on Phoenix.

Hagrid moved to direct the introductions, clearing his throat somewhat nervously. "All right then, you lot, just as we discussed now. In alphabetical order, and no pushin or shovin round the wee one. The boys won't be letting you near him if you do. The centaurs are first then. Grawp will go last so that there will be no accidental squishin."

The whole centaur herd hadn't come, just the important members with high social status. Firenze was there as well, since he was a personal friend of the Potters. They all came forward together, some of them eyeing the adults warily. But they had learned to have some faith in the Potter family, and the Child of Souls appeared quite happy, which would not be the case if it sensed impeding violence.

So they came close, with only Bane, Magorian, the leader's mate, and Firenze actually moving in to briefly touch Phoenix, who smiled up at them in delight.

Afterwards all of the centaurs bowed and then brought out some handmade gifts for the baby, which Albus accepted on his son's behalf. The centaurs then moved off to the side, prepared to protect the child should some of the other creatures forget their manners.

The other creatures behaved well enough though, the pixies, fairies, sprites and even doxies coming forward when it was their turn, flying or climbing up the boys to get to the baby. They pinched and patted the baby's cheeks affectionately, dancing around him for his entertainment before giving him their gifts of flowers, pretty rocks, and jewelry made of natural materials. Other creatures brought similar gifts as well as offerings of berries and other edibles for Albus and Scorpius as the baby's parents.

When it was the Thestrals turn only the older adults could see them. Scorpius and Albus having never seen the death of someone. But Phoenix could sense their presence and leaned out and stroked the horse-like creatures' muzzles while his father watched, Albus sticking out his hand to pat a few invisible muzzles too.

When the unicorns came forward it was like they were Phoenix's beloved puppies, the baby leaning forward to cuddle against the muzzles of each unicorn in turn, nuzzling his little face against their white coats while pure love and devotion gleamed in the unicorns' eyes.

After each unicorn had had their chance to greet the baby the leader of the group neighed at the other woodland creatures, made up of such animals as rabbits, foxes, mice, squirrels and chipmunks. They all came forward, Albus and Scorpius getting up to sit on the ground so that they could get closer.

Once that was done it was finally time for Grawp to come forward, everyone moving well out of the giant's way as he came over to kneel down in front of the humans, the earth shaking with his ever motion.

"Now, Grawp, remember what I told ye." Hagrid began sternly, the half giant smiling with pride and relief when his brother nodded, the giant lifting one of his massive hand and setting it on the ground in front of the boys, palm facing up. "I thought you could just sit on his hand with Phoenix, Al."

"I can do that." Albus agreed, giving Scorpius's shoulder a quick, reassuring squeeze before he carefully walked over and gingerly sat cross legged on the giant's hand. Setting his son down in front of him so that the baby was sitting on the giant's hand as well, Albus kept a firm grip on Phoenix's waist, just in case.

But Grawp just smiled at the baby, and Phoenix just smiled back.

)

After their eventful morning and afternoon Albus and Scorpius enjoyed a quite evening with their son at home, glad that they'd not only gotten approval from the school but from the creatures that resided within the forest. They could definitely count on a lot of backup if anyone ever did something that so much as made their son cry a single tear. But Phoenix was definitely not in a crying mood for the rest of the day, the baby thrilled with all his new friends and the presents they'd brought him. The baby went to sleep with a smile on his face and his fathers did the same, thinking all was well with the world.

They woke up at two in the morning to the sound of Phoenix yelling bloody murder.

Both men snapping awake at the sound, they turned on their bedside lamps, Albus calling for Scorpius to hit the main light while he stumbled over to the baby's cradle. The ceiling light going on both men blinked at the sudden brightness, Albus retrieving Phoenix from his bed while Scorpius hurried over to the Gryffindor's side, demanding to know what was wrong with their son.

"I don't know." Albus said as he studied the infant. "I don't see any blood anywhere, and it's not like we're fighting."

"His cheeks are puffed up." Scorpius observed after a close study of his own.

"His cheeks…oh crap. Hold him a sec." Albus handed the crying baby to Scorpius and then leaned in to stick his finger in Phoenix's mouth, drawing his finger along the infant's gum line. "Oh double crap. His teeth are coming in. They're all coming in at once. He's teething."

Scorpius stared down at the baby in surprise. "I thought that was a gradual thing."

"It is usually, but he can control his growth rate. And given how painful teething is it makes sense that he'd want to get through it as quickly as possible." Wincing at the volume of Phoenix's cries Albus tried to remember what one was supposed to do in such situations. "There's stuff you can buy, but I figured we'd have more warning. But cold…cold to numb his gums we can do."

Leaving the baby with Scorpius Albus hunted up a soother and using his wand chilled the rubber so that it was nice and cold. Then he brought it over and stuck it in the baby's mouth.

It took a minute or so, but finally the baby stopped crying, Phoenix whimpering a little but feeling a lot better now that his mouth was numb.

"You can go back to bed now." Albus offered, plucking the baby from the Slytherin's arms. "I'll stay up, keep him comfortable and cuddled. In the morning we'll get him whatever else you give a baby when he's teething."

Scorpius frowned. "I can take turns with you watching him. You don't have to do all the work."

"No reason we should both suffer." Albus countered. "And I don't mind."

"I'm not going to be able to sleep wondering if he's in pain either." Scorpius shot back, a hint of stubbornness in his grey eyes. "So I want to do my share too."

Albus nodded his acknowledgement of the fact that he could see clearly that the Slytherin wasn't going to be placated. "Then we'll both stay up with him, okay? Well camp out in my bed and watch him together. There's no point doing shifts given the hour. He'll feel better if both of us are with him anyway."

Scorpius was worried enough about Phoenix that he didn't even blink at the idea of sharing the Gryffindor's bed.

So the two got back under Albus's covers with Phoenix, the Scorpius and Albus sitting back up against the headboard shoulder to shoulder, the two taking turns cuddling the baby as their arms got tired.

They talked to each other and to Phoenix, comforting the baby as much as they could as the infant passed in and out of slumber in their arms.

Watching Scorpius nuzzle his cheek against the baby's head Albus felt his heart turn over in the best sort of way. His family, he thought as he reached out to stroke one of the baby's little hands. Maybe not quite the family he'd always imagined one day having, but at the moment Albus couldn't see how that imagined family could be any better than the one he had now.

Glancing over at Scorpius Albus felt what was become a familiar jolt of attraction, a tightening in his gut and a tugging on his heart that made him feel something dangerously close to mushy.

"Hey, Scorpius?"

Lifting his head to look at the Gryffindor questioningly Scorpius absently rubbed the baby's back. "Yeah?"

"I was just wondering…do you think Phoenix's gift…well he's supposed to make people happy and positive right? Do you think he's the reason our dads are able to be in the same room together now? I mean…do you…feel any different about me now? We get along pretty well, considering we don't know each other that well."

Scorpius considered it. "I wouldn't say my feelings and opinion where you're concerned have changed." I still have a crush on you that's bigger than this country and I would still do just about anything for you, Scorpius silently thought before speaking up again. "As for our dads…well they do share a grandson now, one who can't stand negative environments. I'd imagine they're both trying for our sakes."

"And the fact that we seem to be able to…mesh our lives together so well?"

Scorpius's cheeks were tinged with color as he met Albus's gaze. "Maybe…maybe we just have personalities that mesh really well together. So it…doesn't matter that we haven't been…close for very long."

"So you think we make a good team?" Albus asked.

"I think…we make a great team."

)

I know you're all jonesing for some action between our boys, but in this series that portion of their relationship isn't going to get serious until they're at school and have known each other for a decent time. There will be some romantic bonding between the two in the next chap though, to take the edge off. For more M rated action, check out my other fanfics, especially 'A Wicked Week'. That'll give you all the Albus on Scorpius action you should need for a bit.


	16. Bonds of Gossip

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters end up in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy.

Bonds of Gossip

It was close to six in the morning when Albus felt Scorpius's head hit his own shoulder, the Slytherin having finally passed out. A smile teasing his lips, Albus turned his head ever so slightly, his cheek brushing against the softness of the other man's hair, which clung to his bristled jaw line. Enjoying the feel Albus continued to nuzzle his face against the strands, breathing in the scent of the man's hair.

This attraction was a strange thing, the Gryffindor silently mused. It was definitely the first time he'd ever found himself attracted to another man. Logically it had to be tied to the bond somehow, but at the same time he was fairly certain the Slytherin hadn't been lying when the other man had stated that his feelings towards him hadn't changed since they'd become a family. So either Phoenix was affecting only him, Scorpius was lying, or he'd just never met a man until now who had stirred within him a desire to…broaden his sexual preferences.

What was it about the man he found attractive anyway, Albus wondered as he cuddled their son against his chest. He preferred women who were fun loving, smart, athletic, and okay, at the very least pretty. They didn't have to be gorgeous, but he did have to find them attractive.

Scorpius wasn't what one would call a head turner per say, but it you took his features in one at a time he was attractive enough. Pretty hair, beautiful, even gorgeous eyes. Finely boned in face and likely body as well. He didn't have a good idea what the man looked like without clothes, he hadn't really looked the one time he'd seen the man naked. He hadn't thought to do so because at the time Scorpius had just been a guy and he'd pulled back the curtain to tease, not to ogle.

Dammit, why hadn't he looked when he had the chance?

But if he was any kind of judge the Slytherin was slim, long and lean like the other Malfoys, Albus hypothesized. Not skinny exactly, but very streamlined. And they would be living together for a long time to come so he'd see the man without clothes on eventually. They would be sharing quarters at Hogwarts after all. They were to be given a set of rooms normally reserved for married teachers.

As for personality Scorpius was certainly smart, but fun loving was probably pushing it. The man was very mature for his age, very serious, Albus thought with joking seriousness. Athletic remained to be seen, though the man didn't strike him as physically weak.

And none of this mattered unless something romantic did start between them.

What did Scorpius think about him? How did the other man stand when it came to the idea of possibly starting a romantic relationship with another man? The guy could be homophobic for all he knew. And at the moment Albus couldn't think of a logical way to ask those kinds of questions without putting Scorpius on the defensive. The Slytherin had stated the idea that he preferred the idea of being a bachelor to being married. Was that the man's subtle way of saying he wasn't interested in women? Or was Scorpius just such a loner that he didn't want anyone in his life invading his space? It couldn't be that because here they were, as comfortable as bugs in a rug together with Phoenix. The Slytherin didn't seem to mind sharing his life at all so maybe it was just that-

Feeling the man stir against him Albus stilled as he felt the man sit up straight once more beside him, a hint of sleep in the Slytherin's voice as the man drowsily asked how long he'd been out.

"No more than ten minutes. Phoenix is still sleeping."

"Oh." Yawning loudly Scorpius covered his mouth with his hand, blinking the sleepiness from his eyes as he got his bearings, color rising up his cheeks as it belatedly occurred to him that he'd been using the Gryffindor as a pillow. "Sorry. I meant to stay awake."

"No worries. Like I said, you weren't out for long."

Stifling another yawn Scorpius blinked hard before turning his attention to the sleeping infant in Albus's arms. "I'll take him. It had to be my turn by now."

Taking the baby when the Gryffindor carefully shifted the baby into his arms Scorpius smiled as he looked down at the currently silent infant. "Do you know how long we have to wait before the shops open? To get the stuff we'll need for his gums."

Albus considered the question. "I don't know when the shops open, but I think we should just go to St. Mungos instead. Victoire is working today I think, and she did say she wanted to keep track of his growth rate. She'd know what's best to use on him too. Maybe we can get sleeping draughts for the three of us while we're at it."

Exhausted, Scorpius was all for that idea.

)

As soon as the hour was reasonable the three headed out, Phoenix fussy but not screaming which was a blessing, especially since the boys had spent time only the day before trying to convince people that they were capable of taking care of Phoenix by themselves. Making their way up to Victoire's floor Albus's cousin was given permission to leave her duties for the time being so that she could look over Phoenix and get them the proper potion to rub into the baby's inflamed and painfully red gums. Apparently the baby's teeth were coming in nicely, which was a silver lining so to speak. Once that was done and they had their instructions the two set off for home, making a pit stop at the store owned by Victoire's brother and sister as a favor to her.

Both Louis and Dominique were happy to see their cousin and thrilled to see the baby. While Dominique took the baby from them to cuddle and shower with sympathy, Louis turned his attention to the Slytherin in their midst. His new cousin so to speak, as they were apparently welcoming the blonde into their happy family, Louis thought with a small grin. Molly had told everyone about the Slytherin's clash with Callendar, and Louis had to admit that her version of the story had piqued his interest in the other man.

"So you two are heading back to your place after this?" Louis asked as he pocketed the note Albus had delivered from Victoire.

"That's the plan." Albus yawned out ruefully. "We're all going to be taking a quick nap when we get home."

Feeling the man's gaze turn to him Scorpius wasn't quite sure what to say. There was something about the Weasley's gaze that made him feel obligated to say something when normally he would have remained silent. "You…you have a nice store here."

"Thank you. You're a good dresser, most men aren't." Louis responded, smiling when the Slytherin stared at him in surprise. "Now that we're family I can say nice things to you. You've got a great eye for what suits you, and your tailor is excellent, if a bit too traditional. But the traditional look works well for you, so that's not necessarily a bad thing."

Not sure how to take that Scorpius mumbled a thank you. He knew he had little to be vain about when it came to his physical appearance, but it was nice to hear that his clothes made him look better as opposed to less appealing.

"What about the way I dress?" Albus wanted to know, seeing that his cousin was embarrassing Scorpius.

Louis looked at his cousin and rolled his eyes. "Don't even get me started on your wardrobe, Al. You dress like a boy. Scorpius knows how to dress like a man. You just put on whatever so long as it's clean, covers you, and doesn't clash with the rest of your attire."

"Hey!" Insult crossed Albus's face.

"The truth hurts." Waving aside his cousin's objection Louis turned his attention back to Scorpius, a thoughtful look coming into his eye as he looked the man over from head to toe. "And since you're here and Domi won't hand Phoenix over for at least ten more minutes…come with me, Malfoy. I want to test a theory I've have about you for a while now."

And with that Louis grabbed the tired Slytherin by the arm and dragged the man after him as he headed for the back of the shop.

"So things are going well with you and Scorpius?" Dominique asked, heading Albus off before her cousin could rescue the Slytherin from Louis. She was curious as to what her brother was up to, and she wanted to catch up on her gossip with her cousin. It still irked her that her sister and Molly currently had all the juicy information concerning the newest additions to their family.

Knowing very well he was being distracted Albus also knew better than to think he could get past her until she was good and ready to let him. "Yeah, it's going good. We haven't really argued since the family party, and except for the teething thing the baby's been as happy as can be."

Nuzzling her cheek against the baby's head Dominique cuddled the sleeping infant close as she watched him. "And what are you going to do about Callendar? You two go way back."

"What would you do?" Albus returned, not surprised that Molly had blabbed to everyone.

"His mother's brainwashed him." Dominique stated bluntly. "Everyone knows it. Just like everyone knows that that's why her husband left her. He couldn't stand living with her hatred and bitterness. Vincent won't accept Scorpius, you'd be a fool to think otherwise, Al. You might be able to make him leave Scorpius alone, but they'll never be on friendly terms. Callendar will likely insist that you chose between him and Scorpius."

Albus met her gaze squarely. "He should know that family always comes first with me." And then he asked the question that had been buzzing around his head for a while now. "Was I blind not to see? Not to see how deep his hatred ran?"

Understanding in her eyes Dominique shifted the baby against her left side so that she could reach out with her right to pat her cousin's cheek. "We all wear our masks depending on who we're with, Cous. It's human nature. We bend our personalities to suit the situations we're in. He wouldn't have wanted you to see how he was treating Scorpius or the other Death Eater kids. He would have known how you'd feel and react. He's not stupid."

"Did you know, when you were at school with us?" Dominique was five years older, but he had the unfortunate feeling that Vince's clashes with Scorpius had been going on since their first years at Hogwarts.

Dominique shook her head. "But then, as terrible as it sounds, I might not have wanted to see because a part of me can understand the wanting to lash out."

Albus couldn't fault his cousin for that, he'd certainly had unfavorable thoughts and opinions about the Slytherin over the years for no other reason then that the man was a Malfoy.

Which was a pisser to realize.

)

Their thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a commotion coming from the back, both turning to watch as Louis dragged Scorpius out from the back, the Slytherin now dressed in the clothes Louis had forced onto him.

Staring at the man in dumb shock Albus couldn't believe what Louis had put the Slytherin in.

Scorpius was wearing leather pants. Leather pants. And a silver dress shirt that made the man's mysterious eyes stand out even more. Over the shirt Scorpius wore a black vest that, when Louis forced the Slytherin to turn around, had Celtic designs appealingly embroidered across the back. The clothes looked strangely right on the blonde, giving Scorpius the hint of sexy bad boy edge that was in his blood but which he never showed.

Wow.

Nervous and blushing Scorpius squirmed under their staring eyes. The Gryffindor had made him put the clothes on. The crazy, clothes obsessed man had threatened to undress him and put the clothes on him himself if he didn't change into them on his own. The Weasley had meant it too, Scorpius thought as he shuddered at the thought.

"I knew it would look fabulous on him." Louis crowed, well pleased with himself. "Most men can't pull off the leather pants look, they just don't have the right kind of vibe. But he's got such the 'young prince', 'lord of the manor' way of moving and holding himself that I knew he could carry it off. You're one of those guys who owns what he wears and not the other way around, Malfoy. Lucky you."

"Can I change back into my clothes now?" Was all Scorpius wanted to know.

Louis rolled his eyes, but couldn't say he was surprised. He was just happy the other man had let him browbeat him into trying the clothes on in the first place. "Sure. I'll get you a bag to put your new clothes in. They're on me, since there's no way they're going to look so good on anyone else. That shirt was made for your eyes."

Scorpius eyes slid over to look at Albus, his eyes silently pleading for a little help. But the Gryffindor was looking decidedly shell shocked again, like he had that night when they'd put Phoenix to bed after Albus's friends had left for the night.

His concern overriding his growing fear of Louis Scorpius hurried forward to get a better look at the Gryffindor, giving Dominique a questioning look as he did. "Do you know why he does this? Just zones out suddenly? I asked him if he needed to see a healer but he said no."

Lips twitching in barely suppressed amusement Albus's female cousin gave Scorpius a reassuring pat on the head. "Don't worry, kiddo. He's okay. His brain just occasionally overloads. Teenage hormones and such."

Scorpius was pretty sure he didn't have these brain overloads, but then he'd been told more than once that he wasn't a typical teenager. And if a member of the Gryffindor's family wasn't concerned then he probably shouldn't be either, the Slytherin decided with relief.

Coming up from behind Louis put a reassuring hand on Scorpius's shoulder. "You go ahead and get changed, we'll take care of Albus and Phoenix until you get back."

"Thank you."

Watching the Slytherin hightail it out of there the two Weasley siblings shared a small smile before turning back to Albus, Dominique intentionally handing the still sleeping baby over to her cousin to snap him out of his funk.

Blinking in surprise Albus could feel color flushing his own cheeks for once as he realized he'd been caught staring at Scorpius. "I'm going to go outside with Phoenix, some morning air will hopefully keep me awake until we get home. Tell him, will you? That I'm outside waiting for him."

Nodding their heads in agreement the siblings continued to grin widely at their cousin, enjoying the fact that they were making him squirm.

Giving them both annoyed looks Albus said his good byes grudgingly and then headed out before they could start teasing him about his earlier behavior. At least Scorpius hadn't figured out the reason for his zoning out, Albus comforted himself with as the door closed behind him. He wanted to keep it that way until he had some idea how his sudden attraction would go over with the Slytherin.

As soon as the door was closed behind him Dominique turned to face her brother. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, brother dearest?"

"I do believe I am, sister darling." Louis drawled out as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestive. "Families at war for two generations."

"In opposing houses."

Louis all but rubbed his hands with glee. "One of them very straight up until this point while the other…hey, did you ever notice what way the Slytherin swung when we were in school with him? I mean I sort of remember this girl hanging around him…his girlfriend?"

Tapping a finger thoughtfully to her bottom lip Dominique tried to remember. "I think that was a thing the family set up…I don't think I ever heard they were actually a couple from the younger cousins. And he seemed very in concerned and in tune with Albus before. Not to mention the fact that he didn't once ogle me." The blonde added with a toss of her hair. "That definitely says gay to me."

Sighing his regret Louis shook his own blonde head sadly. "Either way we're going to miss all the fireworks when they're away at school."

"Damn." Dominique agreed, having forgotten that. "We'll have to count on the other cousins keeping us informed."

"Yeah."

Walking back into the showroom with his new clothes neatly folded over his arm, Scorpius was not at all pleased to see that Albus was no longer in the shop. Of course the man hadn't protected him from Louis earlier so Scorpius supposed he shouldn't be surprised. "Where did they go?" He asked, figuring that Albus had probably decided to slip off to the Quidditch store again since his last visit had been interrupted.

"They're waiting for you outside." Dominique answered while Louis retrieved a bag for Scorpius to carry the clothes in. "Al was starting to fall asleep on his feet and thought the morning air might wake him up a little. I hope Phoenix stays asleep for you so you two can get some."

"Not likely." Scorpius said with a sigh, sliding the clothes into the bag Louis held open for him. "Your sister said the potion has to be rubbed into his gums every three hour."

Louis reached out and patted the other man's shoulder in sympathy, terribly glad at that moment to be single. "Ouch. Well good luck then."

"Thank you. And thank you again for the clothes. Good bye."

Saying their good byes the Weasely siblings waited until the Slytherin was gone as well before they turned, met each other's gazes, and spoke in unison.

"This is gonna be good."


	17. Widening The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters end up in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy it.

Widening The Bond

When they got home Scorpius wrote a quick note for Tomo so she'd know about the situation, and left it on the kitchen table. Then the two young men wearily trudged upstairs to their room with Phoenix, silently agreeing to go back to their previous sleeping arrangement, just in case. So the two all but crawled into Albus's bed fully clothed and placed Phoenix in between them, mentally praying a blue streak that the baby would stay sleeping for at least a couple hours. After setting the bedside alarm for when they could give the baby his next dose, the two boys settled in to sleep.

Unfortunately for Albus he'd never been the type to sleep well during the day, so he remained awake a little longer than Scorpius, drifting in and out of sleepy consciousness. It was a good thing the Slytherin had changed out of those leather pants, Albus thought absently with a small smile, those could not be comfortable to sleep in. Strange his reaction to the sight of the man in those clothes though. Entirely unexpected. And he was taking it far too well, Albus thought as his brows furrowed, his musing waking him up just a little.

In fact, he was taking a lot of things well that he really shouldn't be. Within the span of a month he'd been dumped, become a teenage father, been forced to live with a complete stranger who was by birth supposed to be his enemy, faced the possible end of his education, would likely have to end a friendship shortly that spanned over half his life, AND was raising a baby who wasn't completely human and who required constant supervision and new clothes due to strange growth spurts.

Now he found himself attracted to someone of his own sex, something that had never happened before, and he was just accepting it like it was a given?

What the hell?

Mind whirling as he considered all the times he should have freaked out over but hadn't Albus was struck by one telling thing. That the one time he'd majorly freaked out and had done so for longer than a couple of minutes was when he'd gone out to see Davey's band play with him friends.

Phoenix hadn't been with him then.

Eyes going to the sleeping infant Albus thought about the baby's gifts, and began to get an inkling of just what was going on. It wasn't that the baby was suddenly making him attracted to Scorpius, as he'd hypothesized earlier, but that Phoenix defused the anxieties and negative impulses of those around him. That was why their parents could stand to be around each other so easily without their past hang-ups making themselves brutally known. That's why he and Scorpius didn't spaz out very much despite being inexperienced teen parents, or being together period. Heck, that was probably why his friends had gotten along so well with Scorpius even though things were always awkward when a new person joined an established group. It was that Phoenix calmed them all down, like he put security blankets around them so that they felt comfortable regardless of the situation or realization.

Which probably meant that he was going to freak out something fierce the first time he saw Scorpius in a non platonic light when Phoenix wasn't around.

He was not looking forward to that one little bit.

Maybe he'd get lucky, and the new attraction would go away too.

Somehow he thought that was wishful thinking.

)

Tomo arrived for work exactly on time, finding the letter the boys had left for her immediately. After reading it over the house elf quickly transported herself into the bedroom so that she could see for herself what the situation was. Hurrying over to the baby's crib the elf frowned when she saw that Phoenix wasn't there, then turning her head realized that the Malfoy boy wasn't in his bed either. But the other bed, she noted, had bumps in it. Two distinct bumps.

Her already huge eyes widening Tomo transported herself to the foot of the bed, walking up the covers to get a look at the three of them. The two masters were lying on their sides facing each other, little Phoenix lay in the middle, looking rather like a chipmunk with his chubby cheeks painfully swollen up. Poor little mite.

Standing over them the way she was it belatedly occurred to the house elf what a cute family moment this was. And that thought had her realizing that there was something she had to do before she woke anyone up.

Tomo was in and out of the room in a snap, reappearing with the camera Mrs. Potter had given to her to take pictures with. Mrs. Potter had asked her to take lots of the new family because apparently men often forgot the importance of documenting family moments. Tomo was happy to help and take the pictures. Once that was done the elf returned the camera to its former resting place and then came back to pick Phoenix up, having noted by the clock that it would soon be time for the baby's medicine.

Turning off the alarm so that the two could keep sleeping Tomo settled the groggy infant on her shoulder and headed out to take care of him until his parents had gotten enough sleep.

They'd be needing to stock up on their sleep, the elf thought with a small smile, since soon the babe would be crawling and running the two of them ragged.

)

Eventually the teeth were all in, and Phoenix showed off a full set of pearly whites every time he smiled, which was often. Everyone thought it a bit ironic that the baby had been in such a hurry to get something that he technically didn't need, since he didn't need to chew on anything, but he had them now and the boys' latest worry was the baby's new ability to crawl. One minute Phoenix was happy enough to stay wherever he was put, and the next he was motoring around the room because he wanted something that wasn't within grabbing distance.

He was now running his parents ragged trying to keep him out of trouble.

"Though at least he has yet to try for anything up high." Albus pointed out as he watched Phoenix nap on the floor, the baby having worn himself out for the moment. "Then he'll start figuring out that he can get around faster on two legs than he can crawling."

"Don't say that so loud. He might hear you."

Chuckling at the Slytherin's weary warning Albus elbowed the man lightly in the side. "I think we're safe on that count, Mate."

Scorpius wasn't so sure. The baby seemed to be far more aware of what was going then they'd prefer to believe. Phoenix had an almost supernatural awareness of where their attentions were aimed, and took immediate advantage whenever their attention wasn't focused completely on him. He'd taken to speeding off to hide, knowing enough to remain quiet so that his parents went nuts tearing apart whatever room they were in to find him.

It was Phoenix's new, favorite game.

They weren't fond of it to say the least.

Unfortunately they had yet to figure out how to stop him, since he had an uncanny knack for finding small spaces to squeeze into. It wasn't possibly to block off all the nooks and crannies, though they'd given that a good try out of sheer desperation.

"Well this new game of his lends theory to your idea that his presence keeps us calm." Scorpius said ruefully as he kept an eagle eye on the baby, just in case. "My heart about stops every time he hides away from us."

Albus had been careful what he had and hadn't told Scorpius about his theory, but he'd figured the basic idea was all right. And Scorpius was right about this hide and seek game with Phoenix proving that they were quite capable of spazzing out like normal, first time parents. "I think we need to invent some sort of magical homing device for him."

"I'm not sure what that is, but if it will help us keep track of him I'm all for it."

Both men turned their heads at the sound of the doorbell, the two then giving each other questioning looks. They weren't expecting Lily for another half an hour after all. But maybe she'd decided to come early, they both thought as they got to their feet. They had asked her to come over so that she could take care of Phoenix for them while they collected their textbooks and stuff for school. She only needed to get a couple of books thanks to multiple cousin and sibling hand me downs.

But it wasn't Lily at the door, nervously shuffling a wrapped package hand to hand, but Gabrielle Goyle.

"Elle, what are you doing back so soon?"Scorpius asked, blinking at her in surprise.

"The twins have added Germany to the countries they're no longer allowed to visit." Was her dry response, though she hadn't been all that upset to have her holiday cut short. Being with her family wasn't exactly what she called a vacation under even normal circumstances. "Am I interrupting?"

"No, come on it." Albus assured her, motioning her inside.

Once inside Gabrielle looked around her, her eyebrows furrowing as she caught sight of a small, curtained area. "What's behind that?"

"The last mistress of this house." Albus informed her with a rueful look. "She put a spell on the portrait that prevents us from removing it. The best we've been able to come up with is to bespell the doorbell so that only human ears can hear it ring. Otherwise you've got to be very quiet coming in and out so you don't wake her."

"Oh."Giving the curtained area a wary look Gabrielle followed them into the living room, her eyes widening when she caught sight of Phoenix. "He's so much bigger than the last time I saw him. What have you guys been doing to him?"

The two shrugged ruefully in response.

Walking over Gabrielle crouched down beside him, giving the baby's head a quick stroke before setting the package down beside the sleeping infant. Straightening the girl gave the two slightly nervous looks. "Uhm. I saw something…in a store while I was away…I thought he'd want it. So I bought it for him. I hope that's okay."

"No, that was really nice of you. Uhm…can I offer you a drink or something?" Albus asked, remembering his manners.

Gabrielle shook her head. "Thank you, but no." Not comfortable talking to the Gryffindor the girl turned her attention to Scorpius. "So have you two…got your books and stuff for school yet?" She'd thought that maybe, if the bond had loosened a little, she and Scorpius could go get their books together, like they always did.

"We were actually going to do that today. Shortly actually. Lily should be here in a half an hour or so, to help us with Phoenix. Would you like to come with us?" Scorpius asked, since they'd made it a habit in past years to go together. "The more the merrier." Plus she could help to save him if they ran into Albus's Veela relatives.

The more the merrier was not how she saw it, but Gabrielle supposed there was little choice otherwise if she wanted to go with Scorpius. "That would be fine."

Awkward chitchat followed, broken by Phoenix, who woke up and started poking curiously at the brightly wrapped package Gabrielle had placed beside him.

Taking the cue Albus left the two Slytherins to their conversation and walked over to crouch down beside his son, carefully removing the wrapping paper since some girls got upset if you tore into their carefully wrapped gift. Reaching inside the box Albus's eyes widened almost as much as Phoenix's did when he took out a large stuffed animal shaped like a phoenix.

"When you press on its stomach it sings. I don't suppose it sounds like the actual bird, but it's supposed to be close." Gabrielle said as Albus handed it to the baby, who squeezed it against his little chest, activating the music on cue to Phoenix's delight.

Needless to say the conversation was hard to continue after that, since Phoenix refused to stop setting off the stuffed animal every time it went quiet.

)

And so, when Lily arrived, the five set off for Diagon Alley to retrieve their books for the coming school term. They got stares from everyone, and as usual they were looked at funny, but the group ignored them except for Lily, who was perverse enough to gawk right back at the gawkers until they self consciously looked away. Phoenix just waved at his admirers from his stroller, which they'd had to use since the boy had loudly refused to leave Gabrielle's present at the house. The stuffed animal was as big as he was, and had been strapped in with him so that he couldn't drop it accidentally.

The adults got theirs and Lily's books without took much trouble, Lily having to wait outside with Phoenix since there wasn't enough room in the store for the stroller. The place was packed with students, many of whom would have normally come over to chat with Albus but didn't due the company he was currently keeping.

Once the books were collected the teenagers and baby headed for the Apothecary so that they could all get their potions ingredients. It was decided that Lily would wait outside with Phoenix again, since there was no way they were letting the baby go into that store with them. There were so many things the baby couldn't try to touch that it boggled their minds.

Leaving Lily outside the store the three had gotten most of their ingredients when Albus heard his name being called.

Looking over at his aunt Albus's welcoming smile dimmed a little as he saw the strain around her normally cheerful eyes. "Hello, Aunt Angelina. Here to get some ingredients for the store?"

The woman nodded, doing her best to keep her smile in place. "Yes. George…George is working on IT again. He ran out of wolfbane. Lily told me you three were in here getting stuff for school. Are you…she didn't think you had plans after this. Do you?"

"No. We didn't have anything planned. Or at least I don't. Did you…need help with him?" He knew that Roxanne had the day off, and Fred was off in Romania visiting Uncle Charlie. Usually his uncle wasn't so bad that there was cause to worry, but he could see from his aunt's face that this was one of the older man's really bad days.

"He's not too bad, but I thought…I know Phoenix isn't that old yet, so he can't use the powers Victoire says he's going to have…but maybe he would make George feel a little better. If nothing else he'd be a distraction."

Albus nodded his agreement instantly, sure that Scorpius would have no problem with him borrowing Phoenix if the Slytherins didn't want to tag along. "Sure, no problem. You go get what you need and we'll finish getting what we need and then we'll all head over to the store with you, okay?"

Giving Albus a quick, loving hug Angelina smiled genuinely and thanked him before heading off to get the wolfbane, her steps decidedly lighter.

Once she was out of sight Scorpius turned to give Albus a questioning look, the conversation he'd overheard piquing his curiosity. "What's wrong with your uncle?"

A sad look came into Albus's green eyes as he explained, motioning for them to move through the aisles with him so that they could get their stuff while he explained. "I don't know if you both know but my Uncle George was a twin. His twin, Fred, died at the Battle of Hogwarts. Before that they'd started the joke shop together. Anyway, a week before the battle, the two were working on a potion that you could drink that would basically make its consumer look like they were on fire, and allow them to blow fire out their mouths like a dragon too. You could also transfer the fire onto everything you touch apparently. Uncle Fred figured out how to do it…but he died before he could tell Uncle George. Since then Uncle George has been trying to figure out what the secret recipe is, and he gets…very depressed when he keeps messing it up. It's become a sort of mission for him. A way to memorialize his twin I guess. We've all looked over the notes Uncle Fred left behind…but not even Aunt Hermione can figure out how to make the potion do everything it's supposed to."

"Oh." Scorpius winced, even though he knew no one in his family had been directly responsible for the death of Fred Weasley. Still, they'd certainly helped set the stage for the boy's execution. "Would it be a good idea…if Gabrielle and I didn't come with you? Would that make it worse for him?"

"I think we should go." Gabrielle stated quietly, before Albus could answer. "I mean you and I are both top students when it comes to potions. Maybe we could suggest something he hasn't thought of."

"I think you should both come." Albus agreed, giving her a grateful look, pleasantly surprised that she would offer to help too. "And we'll work together to see if we can't put my uncle in a better mood before we go."


	18. Bonds A Burning

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters end up in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy it.

Bonds A Burning

When the teenagers, baby, and Angelina arrived at the store they put their books, potion ingredients, and the stroller downstairs and then headed up to the second floor that housed the product development area. Albus carried Phoenix, the baby clutching his phoenix toy while bubbling away as he looked around with interest. Lily opened the door for all of them, Angelina going in first with the others following in after her.

George Weasley was so lost in thoughts and memories that he didn't even hear them come in. He was hunched over one of the worktable, his head in his hands. His red hair was shot through with grey, which fit him at that moment as his posture and aura suggested a man with the weight of the world on his thin shoulders.

"George." Angelina said softly, working up another weak smile when he swerved around in his chair to face them. "Look who I run into at the Apothecary."

"Hey, Uncle George." Walking over Albus had Phoenix in his uncle's arms before the man could speak. "Phoenix wanted to come see you."

"Did he now?" George drawled out tiredly, looking over at his wife knowingly before he looked down at the baby in his lap, smiling a little as the infant beamed up at him, hugging the phoenix tight enough to make it start singing again. "Isn't that a pretty bird you have there, Phoenix."

Phoenix nodded as if he knew exactly what he'd been asked.

While his aunt moved in to fuss over Phoenix with his uncle Albus carefully picked up the book his family used to record the formulas they'd attempted to use over the years so that they wouldn't repeat any. Opening it to the first page Albus pointed to the piece of parchment that had been attached there, holding it out towards Scorpius and Gabrielle. "That's the last version of the formula they had before Uncle Fred passed away. It doesn't work, but we've always used it as a spring board."

Reading it over Scorpius was pretty sure he wasn't going to be much help. He did well in potions, yes, but that was following the recipes already created by others. He'd never experimented on his own.

Well aware of this Gabrielle took of the book from the Gryffindor, absently chewing on her bottom lip as she read through the list of ingredients and their amounts. She could see their logic, how they'd combined ingredients to counteract or cause various reactions in the potion's consumer. Personally she couldn't figure out why they would have wanted to invent such a weird potion, but they were men and Gryffindors. Senselessness was to be expected.

Doing calculations and the math in her head Gabrielle eyes narrowed thoughtfully, walking over to the work bench with the book in hand. Setting it down she grabbed a spare piece of parchment without asking, dipped a quill into ink, and started scribbling out the ingredients already listed, leaving the amounts blank. When they were all there Gabrielle started writing in amounts, doing the math for each ingredient as she cut the ingredients down from their original amounts.

"What are you doing?" Handing Phoenix over to his wife George moved to stand beside her, studying what she was writing with intense focus. The confused look slowly left his eyes as he saw what she was doing and realized why she was doing it. "You're cutting down the amounts to the bare minimum. Enough for one use." Hands starting to shake slightly at his sides George fisted them there, barely feeling the hand his wife put on his shoulder. "That's what he meant…that's what Fred meant when he said…said that if I wanted to figure it out I'd have to drink less. I thought he was making fun of the fact that I could never drink as much as he could…we were both pissed when we came up with the idea for the potion and the formula…but he was giving me a hint."

"You were trying to make too much, which makes sense since you intended to mass produce it." Gabrielle told him, tapping a finger against the original formula. "But you can't have this much fireweed in a potion, it's too unstable, especially in liquid form."

Eyes shimmer ever so slightly George whirled around and started gathering up the ingredients, Angelina quickly handing Phoenix off to Scorpius so that she could assist her husband.

Moving back as well since she figured it would be important for the man to do it himself Gabrielle returned to stand at Scorpius's side, Albus taking the blonde's other side as they watched the two go about assembling the potion with the new parameters.

"How sure are you that this is going to work?" Albus asked in a low voice, not wanting to get his hopes up. It was off to say he knew how much this meant to his uncle, losing his other half wasn't something he'd ever experienced, but he did know that this formula had haunted his mother's brother since Uncle Fred's death.

"While I can't be a hundred percent sure, I'm fairly confident it will work." Gabrielle watched the production with some interest. "If you're worried about the potion causing harm to anyone in the room, don't be. I would tell you if Phoenix needed to be removed from the room."

Actually that hadn't occurred to him, but now that she brought it up Albus appreciated the reassurance. "Good to know."

When the potion was complete Albus and Lily both moved to stand in front of Scorpius, Gabrielle and Phoenix just in case, though the two Slytherins could see over the Gryffindors' shoulders well enough.

Standing back a little as well Angelina folded her hands together as if in prayer, pressing her fingertips against her lips as she watched her husband bring the flask to his lips, hand shaking still with anticipation now.

For a heartbeat nothing happened, and then flames seemed to erupt from the older man's pores, engulfing him so that he was one huge, human flame. The fire traveled over his skin without harming George in anyway. And when the man reached out to gently brush aside the tears sliding down his wife's cheeks the flames transferred over to her skin as well, so that she too looked to be aflame. Lily ran over to be set on fire too, and the girl danced around as she pretended she was a human sparkler, writing words in fire in the air.

Soon a number of things in the room appeared to be on fire as George went around touching and blowing on things, watching them come alight with tears in his eyes and a wide grin on his face.

The potion lasted a little over ten minutes, and when the last flame had flickered out George watched it vanish with a look of peace on his face, like a man imprisoned who'd finally been set free.

Not ashamed at the fact that his eyes were a little misty behind his glasses Albus watched his aunt and uncle hug, the Gryffindor turning his head to thank Gabrielle for what she'd done, blinking his eyes in surprise when he saw that her eyes were a little teary too. Apparently Gabrielle Goyle was as much a sucker for a happy ending as he was, Albus thought with a small smile, wisely not mentioning the girl's tears as he softly thanked her for helping his uncle out.

Covertly wiping her slightly damp eyes Gabrielle shrugged his thanks off like it was no big deal.

But it was a very big deal to George Weasley, who walked over and caught the shocked Slytherin girl in a bone crushing hug, holding her close as he choked out a thank you of his own for helping him.

Then Angelina was hugging her in thanks, and Lily, and an assistant from the store came in and felt the need to hug Gabrielle too because she knew how much solving the formula meant to her boss.

When she was finally turned loose Gabrielle's face was as red as George Weasley's hair had once been.

Taking note of this George laughed, shaking his head ruefully. "Sorry, sorry. All these strangers hugging and crying all over you, some thanks for all your help, huh? I don't even know your name. You're a friend of my nephew's?"

"I'm Gabrielle Goyle. I'm Scorpius's friend." Was her stiff reply as Gabrielle struggled to get back her dignity.

Angelina blinked in surprise, staring at the girl more closely as she tried to remember why the name Goyle sounded familiar. The only people she knew with that last name were Draco Malfoy's former stooge and the prat's twin sons that had constantly locked horns with her son and Albus's older brother at Hogwarts.

"Any relation to Martin and Matthew Goyle?" George asked, his thoughts mirroring his wife's.

"They're my older brothers. They have half a brain between the two of them, and they often lose it."

George's lips twitched in amusement. "My son Fred wouldn't argue with you."

"They hate him too."

)

Once the thank yous and explanations had been given Albus announced that they couldn't stay much longer because he had promised to buy Lily ice cream for helping them get their shopping done. Her favorite ice cream parlor would be closing soon. Not that that was the only reason, Albus could see that his aunt and uncle needed some alone time. This was a pretty big deal for his uncle, and it was only a matter of time before the real, emotional waterworks began.

George insisted on giving Albus money to buy everyone ice cream, which they accepted since it seemed to mean so much to him. After saying their good byes they headed out, feeling a little worn out emotionally but very happy as well.

"Wait till I tell Mum." Lily announced once they were back on the sidewalk and heading for the ice cream parlor. "She's going to bawl too."

"Mum doesn't really bawl." Albus argued, slinging an arm over his sister's shoulder. "She tears up while looking all stoic and together. Gran is going to bawl. Big time."

The two shared a look that said they were both very glad that they weren't going to be there to see that. Nothing made her grandchildren feel crappier than seeing their grandmother cry, even when the tears were happy ones.

"So you now can go into any Weasley joke shop and have your pick of the merchandise for free." Scorpius looked over at Gabrielle with a small smile, pushing Phoenix's stroller while the baby snuggled with his bird inside. "What are you going to get first the next time you go to one?"

"It's a joke shop." Was her blunt reply, still off balance from all the Gryffindor goodwill being beamed her way. "What on earth is there that I could possibly want?"

"You'd be surprised what you can find in their stores." Albus told her, having overheard her words. "Maybe you'd like a Pygmy Puff? My mum had one when she was your age."

"Do I look like the Pygmy Puff type to you?"

She really didn't look like the type now that he thought about it, but Albus knew better than to judge a book by its cover. She might appear pretty tough most of the time, but she'd been choked up like all the rest of them earlier. So he took the easy way out. "I don't know you well enough to know if you're the type to like cute fluff balls."

"Fair enough." And the pygmy puffs were awfully cute, Gabrielle grudgingly admitted to herself. Not that she wanted one…but if she had to pick something from the joke shop a pygmy puff would be acceptable.

When they arrived at the ice cream parlor the teens got in line, ignoring the weird looks they were still getting from people. They were sort of getting used to it. And once they had their ice cream they headed outside to sit on a bench and enjoy their treat.

Turning Phoenix's stroller so that the boy was facing them Scorpius put on the brake so the baby wouldn't roll away on them. Then he took a seat on the bench as well beside Gabrielle, taking back the ice cream cone she'd been holding for him.

"I feel bad eating ice cream in front of him." Lily commented as she enjoyed her treat. "It's gotta suck, not being able to eat things. Especially chocolate."

"You can't really miss what you've never had though." Gabrielle pointed out. Though a world without chocolate consumption sounded very depressing to her too. The baby was a whole new definition of a picky eater, Gabrielle thought with a small smile.

Lily wiggled her fingers in her nephew's direction, laughing in delight when the little boy mimicked her. "Well what I want to know is how he decides when and when not to grow. And what are we going to do when he gets to be a teenager? I mean seriously, when he's thirteen or fourteen, and gets his first big crush on some hot older woman or man, he could decide like overnight to age himself to look the same age as that person. And how are they going to be able to put him through school when he could look eleven within a year if he wants?"

Startled, Gabrielle looked over at Lily, wondering if the other girl knew Scorpius's secret. "A hot older man?" She repeated, watching the Gryffindor's face carefully.

"What? It's possible he'll be gay." Lily answered with an innocent look on her face. "Which would be perfectly okay with me. I think guy on guy is hot."

Choking on his ice cream Scorpius did his best not to wince when Gabrielle helpfully whacked him on the back.

"You think guy on guy is hot." Albus repeated, looking over at his sister in bemusement.

"Hey, straight guys think it's hot when girls roll around naked together or with them, I think guys rolling around naked together is hot provided they're sexy and built."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Next time we're together with James, tell him you think that. His reaction will be amusing as hell."

"No probs."

The two Slytherins looked at each other and then wisely went back to their ice cream without commenting.

)

It was two days after her visit to the Weasleys' joke shop that Gabrielle was summoned downstairs by her father's loud bellowing of her name. Rolling her eyes Gabrielle prayed for strength as she headed down the stairs and headed for the hallway leading to their front door. Her father was standing there with a rather frightened looking man who was holding a large, stunning bouquet of bright, exotic looking flowers in a clear glass vase.

Walking over to stand in front of her father Gabrielle looked up at him questioningly. "You bellowed?"

"You're Gabrielle Goyle?" The unknown man asked before Gabrielle's father could speak. When she said that she was, the deliveryman immediately set the flowers down on a table and then pulled a small envelope from his pocket, holding it out to her. "This is for you, Miss, and the flowers." After she took the envelope the florist retrieved his clipboard as well. "If you'll just sign here as well, saying you got them."

Having never received a flower delivery before Gabrielle wasn't quite sure what to do, so she stuffed the envelope into her pocket and took the clipboard, signing off for it. Her gaze on the flowers Gabrielle handed over the clipboard, walking over to retrieve them as soon as her hands were free. Picking them up Gabrielle started back towards the stairs, calling out for her father to tip the delivery guy.

When she was back in her room Gabrielle set the bouquet on her desk before rushing over to lock her door, knowing that the twins would want to see as soon as they learned about the delivery. She would not have them laying one finger on her flowers.

When that was done the girl rushed back over to look over her gift, sighing with girlie pleasure as she examined each beautiful, perfect bloom in turn. She'd dry what she could so that she could always have some of them, Gabrielle decided with a wide smile.

Belated remembering the envelope in her pocket Gabrielle quickly pulled it out, wanting to know what had prompted Scorpius to send her the beautiful bouquet. After all, who else would be sending her flowers?

Carefully opening the envelope Gabrielle began reading the words, her eyes getting bigger and bigger as the words sunk in.

_To Miss. Gabrielle Goyle,_

_I send you these flowers as a token of my appreciation for the great service you did my father by helping him discover the key to solving the fire formula. I cannot begin to tell you how much it means to all of us, what you did, and when school begins and I reopen our shop in Hogsmeade I hope you'll drop by so that I can thank you in person. Hopefully by then I will have thought of a way to properly show my gratitude, rather then fallback on the time honored tradition of flowers. _

_Until then, I wish you nothing but the very best._

_Your Grateful Servant,_

_Fred Weasley _

Gabrielle had to read the short note several times before it sunk into her head that she'd received flowers from one of most popular, good looking, sought after men to have attended Hogwarts in the last decade. The man had been more popular than his cousin James!

"I need to sit down."

Pulling out her desk chair Gabrielle sat down hard, staring blindly at the flowers, and then back at the note she still clutched in her hand.

"This is going to be one hell of a last year at Hogwarts."


	19. Bridging The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Bridging The Bond

As they walked along the path Albus kept a wary eye out for swans. So far they'd been approached by squirrels, geese, ducks and the other birds commonly found in a park setting. They had yet to encounter any swans on the path, but there were plenty of the large birds in the river they were walking along and he wanted the vicious things to stay in the water.

"Why do you keep looking at the swans like they're Death Eaters come to kill us?" Scorpius wanted to know as he continued to push Phoenix's stroller down the path, keeping out a wary eye as well, though he was guarding against the cheek pinchers their son attracted in droves. The boy was just too adorable for his own good.

"Because they're vicious, mean creatures and if one gets close Phoenix will want to play with it the way he wants to play with every animal he meets."

Scorpius's lifted brow was very aristocratic and Malfoy. "Swans are dangerous creatures?"

"Don't look at me like that. Hagrid exposed me to all sorts of what you'd consider dangerous creatures as a child, and you know which animal bit me when I was a kid and scared the hell out of me? A swan. Came at me to steal the sandwich I was eating at the time. Put me off bologna for life. And they can kill people, just so you know. I read about it in one of my cousins' Guinness Book of World Records. It is possible."

Lips twitching it took a great deal of effort on Scorpius part not to laugh. He could see that the Gryffindor was serious, and he got that some people had irrational fears of things that made sense only to them or a limited few. And he had fears of his own of course, so he wouldn't laugh. But a change in topic was necessary if he was going to keep a straight face. "What's the Guinness Book of World Records?"

"It's a Muggle business that keeps track of world records. Every year they publish a book detailing various records they think would interest the public to know."

A Muggle business. Now it made more sense, Scorpius thought, mentally shaking his head over the idea that Muggles were so weak that they could be killed by birds that only reached a man's waist. That was just sad.

"I always thought as a kid that being killed by a swan would be a really weird way to die. I mean just think what it would be like at the funeral, and later, when your relatives met people and they asked about you…what would it be like saying that your brother or husband got killed by a swan?"

He couldn't help it, the Slytherin had to grin at that. "Hopefully we'll never have to know."

Albus pouted for a moment and then grinned too. "Okay, so I'm being a bit of an idiot. But if one of those swans kills you while I'm not looking I'm going to tell you 'I told you so' for all eternity once I'm dead and in heaven with you."

Scorpius's brain blew at the idea that Albus thought they'd be in heaven together someday, so that it took a little longer then it should have for him to realize that the man wasn't saying it would be heaven for them to be together, just that the Gryffindor thought he was a good enough person to warrant going to heaven when he died. Though that was good too, Scorpius reminded himself. He wanted Albus to think well of him after all.

Completely unaware of the thoughts going through the other man's mind Albus walked beside the Slytherin in silence, assuming the other man was deep in thought about something. Possibly envisioning what death by swan would be like, which from experience Albus knew to be very traumatizing.

)

The three continued on for a while in silence before they decided to take a break and rest for a bit. Finding themselves a large, shady tree, Albus spread out the large blanket they'd brought with them while Scorpius removed their son and Phoenix's stuffed bird from the stroller. Setting the boy down in the middle of the blanket the boys took a seat on either side of their son, bookending him just in case while he chewed on his bird's wing.

A sparrow landing on the blanket Phoenix very seriously handed his stuffed phoenix over to Albus and then reached out towards the live bird, which hopped into the little boy's hand like he'd been trained to do so.

The baby gurgled at the bird, his words not making any sense, but his enjoyment of the creature was obvious.

Leaning back on his arms to enjoy the sun Albus absently glanced over at the Slytherin. "Hard to believe we'll be back in school in a week, huh?"

"It definitely isn't going to be how I imagined it when I finished the sixth year." Scorpius agreed, smelling hints of autumn in the air. "We'll need to start packing soon, get all of Phoenix's stuff in order. It will help that we're going the night before, so that we can set up his stuff and get him oriented a little before the rest of the students get there. The girls are going to be all over him." The Slytherin added when he noticed a trio of girls a few years younger than them pointing at Phoenix and waved at the little boy, who of course waved back with his free hand.

"If we needed the help we could definitely use him to pick up girls." Albus agreed with a chuckle.

He'd never tried to pick up a girl before, but Scorpius supposed the other man was right. But he couldn't help but ask, "But you and I, we're going to concentrate on Phoenix this year, right? No dating?"

Albus glanced over, something in the other man's tone making him think there was something behind the question, though that could just be wishful thinking on his part. "Right. No girls for us. Except for the ones we're related to or are just friends with."

"Except for them. Which reminds me, Elle sent me a letter. Your cousin Fred sent her flowers to thank her for helping out your uncle."

"Yeah? That sounds like Fred." His cousin had a way when it came to women, Albus silently acknowledged, Fred being one of those guys that just loved all women. Total Mama's boy, but in a manly sort of way. Fred was definitely a lover, not a fighter, but Gabrielle's brothers could testify to the fact that his cousin wasn't the type to turn the other cheek when someone got up in his face. Those that did got taken down hard and stayed down if they were smart.

"Apparently he intends to thank her properly when we have our first trip to Hogsmeade."

That didn't surprise Albus either. "That should be interesting. We should definitely arrange to be there."

Scorpius nodded in agreement, though for entirely different reasons. Unlike Albus he didn't think it would be entertaining to see, he was worried what Gabrielle might do to Albus's cousin if the man accidentally embarrassed his best friend in public.

Gabrielle did not do embarrassment well.

)

Later that day, while he watched Scorpius put together their dinner, it occurred to Albus that he needed to do something about the fact that the Slytherin was cooking all the meals. He was putting together small stuff like soup and sandwiches for them for lunch, but it wasn't really anything compared to all the time and prep that went into what Scorpius whipped up for them for dinner. And since he couldn't really cook to save his life, there was really only one way he could return the favor other than order take out, which struck him as a bit of a cop out.

His mother, sister and other assorted relatives had all offered their babysitting services if he and Scorpius wanted a night to themselves before they headed off to school and the time was rapidly approaching when they'd be with Phoenix pretty much all the time except when they were in class. Not that they couldn't go out to dinner and bring the baby with them before then, but it would sort of be nice to just go out and be teenagers for a little while too. Just a few hours, it wasn't like they could leave Phoenix overnight with someone else. One, Phoenix would probably freak, and two…two he was a first time parent and the idea of not having his child in his care for more than a couple hours freaked him out.

But they could manage a couple hours…probably.

Looking over at Phoenix, who was playing drums with a couple of wooden spoons, Albus gave the baby a questioning look. "You'd be okay without us both for a couple hours, wouldn't you?"

The baby paused for a thoughtful moment and then bashed the spoons against his high chair harder then before.

"Is that a no?"

"Is what a no?" Scorpius asked, turning around to give Albus a questioning look.

"I'm asking Phoenix how he'd feel about you and I leaving him with a babysitter for a couple hours. Apparently I'm supposed to interpret his answer from his drumming."

Scorpius gave the Gryffindor a puzzled look. "Why would we both need to leave him for a couple hours? Or do you mean when we have classes together?"

"No, I mean you and I going out for a couple hours. For dinner. I thought it would be nice…and a chance for me to thank you properly for doing so much of the cooking. What do you think?"

Scorpius blinked at the other man, stunned. "The two of us…just the two of us?"

"That would be what I'm asking, yes." Albus's lips twitched, thinking to himself that the man looked as stunned by the idea as he'd been during the swan rant. "Is that a no?"

"No. I mean I don't want to…we shouldn't leave Phoenix with someone unless we have to. At least until he's aged more naturally. I mean we should put off him getting older as long as possible. Do we really want to run after a two year old at Hogwarts? They call them the terrible twos for a reason." Scorpius knew he was talking far too fast but their son's presence could only keep him so calm. And the idea of being alone, in a restaurant, in a setting that would, to outside eyes resemble a date…scrambled his mind and thoughts like they'd been put into a tornado.

Albus wasn't sure whether to be amused or insulted by the other man's reaction. Cause he was definitely getting the vibe that the reasons Scorpius were giving weren't the truth. Or at least not the real reason, which begged the question of why the Slytherin wouldn't want to spend time with him without Phoenix around.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Scorpius asked, his nerves plain in his eyes.

"Cause you're looking at me like you think I'm going to bite."

Scorpius muttered without thinking. "If only."

"What?" Albus slowly raised an eyebrow as he looked over at the Slytherin, sure he must have heard the man wrong. Or had he?

Cheeks heating with a hint of color Scorpius abruptly turned to go back to unnecessarily stir the pot on the stove. "I said 'If only for a bit'. I mean if you want to do the dinner thing, we couldn't be gone long. If we go somewhere close by we could be back in a little over an hour."

Was that really what the other man had said? Because that had definitely not been what he'd heard the first time. But he wouldn't push it, in case he was mistaken, Albus decided. He'd just keep it in the back of his mind as he paid better attention to how they interacted when it was just the two of them. "So I'll talk to Lily, see about her babysitting. A last dinner out before school starts."

Scorpius's nod was more of a jerk, but it was an acknowledgement of the plans.

Phoenix banged his spoons loudly on the highchair tray, demanding their attention.

Reaching out Albus lightly rubbed his knuckles affectionately over the baby's downy head. "Don't worry, kiddo, we haven't forgotten you're there. We just can't talk to you because you answer back in a strange alien language only you and others of your age can understand."

Scorpius returned to them to move forward to smooth down the hair that Albus had ruffled. "Do you suppose he's really missing out, the way the girls said? Not eating I mean. They seemed really bothered by the fact that he doesn't like chocolate."

"Girls are weird about chocolate." Albus informed the Slytherin, having learned that truth through years of stuffing chocolate into the hands of crying girls in order to stop the floodgates. "And Victoire said that he's a normal, human baby physically. He is genetically our son after all. So he could eat if he wanted to, right? He just doesn't."

"Yeah. He's our son. Ours." The thought still thrilled him as much as it had the first time.

Albus smiled at the Slytherin and then at the baby. "That he is. Who'd have thunk that you and I could create something so perfect together."

I did and do, Scorpius thought as he watched the Gryffindor through his lowered lashes. You have no idea how much time I've spent imagining how perfect we could be together. Create magic between us. What I'd give for just one night to find out if you're as perfect without clothes as you are with them.

And how stupid was he being, Scorpius chided himself as he turned to walk back over to the stove as the timer went off, signaling that dinner was ready.

But he'd always been stupid where Albus Severus Potter was concerned.

Watching the Slytherin, and going with instinct, Albus followed the other man over to the stove and stretched his arm out to place a hand across the other man's back to rest a hand on the man's shoulder. "It smells delicious. Good job."

"Thanks."

Smiling at the shyness of the Slytherin's response Albus squeezed the shoulder under his hand.

)

Lily smiled at the two parents, who were both looking decidedly worried, jittery, and like all the other parents she'd ever babysat for, the first few times that they had to let their new baby out of their sight for any length of time. That Phoenix was looking less than thrilled didn't help matters either, Lily thought as she looked down at the infant she cradled in her arms. The baby wasn't crying or really fussing, but the word perturbed came to mind.

"And you've got the number for the restaurant, in case you need us." Albus asked again, for the third time since she'd gotten there.

Rolling her eyes at her brother Lily gave him a look that said she thought he was being an idiot but was tolerating it because he was family. "Not only do I have the number, but I happened to know exactly where it is since it's only A BLOCK AND A HALF from here."

"He looks fussy. Does he look fussy to you?" Scorpius asked the others, feeling horribly guilty as he stared into his son's pouting face. Phoenix definitely looked upset. How could he ever have thought they could leave their baby for even an hour? They were horrible parents.

"Okay, you guys are leaving now or I'm telling everyone what sissies you guys really are." With her free hand Lily pointed in the direction of the front door. "Out. Now. Because I said so." She added, doing her best imitation of her grandmother.

Both men instinctively hunched their shoulders at her tone of voice, responding to it automatically.

"Out now, or I'll really use the Gran voice in full force."

They got out, heading out towards the restaurant with much looking back.

"Your sister has a very commanding tone of voice." Scorpius commented, shoving his hands nervously into his pockets.

"It runs in the family. All the women are like that. Scarily so. I have the mental trauma to prove it."

"I'll bet." The smile didn't stay on the Slytherin's lips for long though, vanishing as his present circumstances sank in. He was alone with Albus, on a dark sidewalk, on his way to being treated to dinner. It wasn't a date, but he so wanted to pretend that it was and that was dangerous as hell. Not to mention the fact that he felt more and more lousy about leaving Phoenix behind with every step he took.

"They'll be fine though." Albus reassured him, as much for himself as for the Slytherin. "Lily's actually supposed to be a very good babysitter. It's because she's so immature. She can relate to kids better than most people."

Scorpius looked over at the Gryffindor in horror. "She's immature and like a child AND WE JUST LEFT OUR SON WITH HER!"

"Wow. So you can yell."

"Of course I can yell! Everyone can yell unless they're mute or been cursed or jinxed somehow." Scorpius glared at Albus. "We are going home right now!"

"Anyone ever tell you that you're pretty damn cute when you freak out?"

Scorpius went as red as was humanly possible.


	20. Tickling The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Tickling The Bond

Albus felt like he was on his first date. And not just a first date with someone, but his first date ever. He wasn't even entirely sure that he'd been this nervous then now that he thought about it. It was really amazing what one kid could do, Albus thought as he looked across the table at Scorpius, who looked just as uncomfortable as he did. They'd managed pretty good up until the last ten minutes, having exhausted the topic of whether or not his sister was mentally fit to babysit their son. Now it was brutally apparent that they didn't know what to talk about if it didn't have to do with their son.

They'd be talking about the weather at any moment.

So this was what being on a date felt like, Scorpius thought as he resisted the urge to fiddle with his dinnerware. To be honest, he'd always expected it to be a lot worse. At least it was a guy sitting across from him instead of some girl his parents had forced upon him once they'd finally accepted that he was never going to see Gabrielle as anything but a friend. And the Gryffindor was the only man he'd ever wanted to date, and how many guys out there could say they'd gotten the chance to go on date with their teen fantasy?

Of course they should probably be talking about something other than their son. "Do you think it will rain tonight?"

Shaking his head at the both of them Albus opted to see the humor in the situation as he chuckled softly.

"What?"

Albus winked at the Slytherin. "I was just thinking that we really are an old married couple. We've gotten to the point where we've got nothing to talk about except for our son."

Getting the reference to the time when Albus had teased him about them being a couple doomed for divorce Scorpius's lips twitched in amusement, playing along automatically this time. "Well we have known each other for so long, not to mention we are on the road to divorce. Not having anything to say kind of goes with that I'd imagine."

Pleased that the other man was going along with his teasing Albus leaned forward, delight in his animated green eyes. "So which of us is responsible for the downfall of our marriage, Darling? Since I'm Harry Potter's son our divorce will be in all the papers. It would be nice to know what kind of dirt you're going to be swinging my way."

Scorpius thought for a moment and then threw out the only thing he could think of. "Well you have cheated on me multiple times with various women. You'd still have a girlfriend on the side if Naomi hadn't dumped you."

"I suppose the fact that you've kicked me out of your bed is any excuse?" Albus asked innocently.

Like he would ever kick this man out of his bed, Scorpius thought as he tried not to blush. He'd tie Albus to his bed if he had even a little encouragement from the man grinning at him across the table. And something about the wide grin on the Gryffindor's face had Scorpius finding just a little gumption of his own. "Well if you had been worth keeping in my bed I wouldn't have kicked you out."

Surprise coming into his eyes Albus slowly raised an eyebrow. "Well ouch."

Scorpius's lips twitched this time. "It wasn't completely your fault, I know I'm more flat chested than you normally prefer."

Laughing out loud Albus propped his chin on his hand, his elbow on the table. "True, but your face makes up for it."

Flushing, Scorpius had to actually bite down on his bottom lip to keep himself from asking the other man if he really did like his face.

"And so you blush, indicating once again that we just might be able to save our marriage if we try a little harder." A curious look coming into his eyes Albus tipped his head to the side, studying the blonde's face for clues. "What is your type, anyway? I know you said there's no one you're interested in, but you have to have a type. Most everyone does."

A vaguely mysterious look came into the Slytherin's eyes as he softly answered. "Why you, of course. Why else do you think I married you?"

"I see." Though Albus had a feeling he was definitely missing something. Lifting his water glass Albus smiled as he toasted the Slytherin. "To our happy marriage then."

"To our marriage." Scorpius agreed, clicking their glasses together.

)

Lying on his stomach under his favorite chair Phoenix wasn't entirely pleased with the funny one, which was unusual. Usually she was one of his favorite people, but she was refusing to look for him. And she was playing with his shiny, sound making toy! She was supposed to be tearing the room apart looking for him, that was what his parents did when he hid. That was half the fun of hiding!

Finally unable to stand the way she was playing with HIS toy Phoenix crawled out from under the chair and zoomed across the room like a heat seeking missile on his hands and knees, determination written all over his little face.

Knowing enough not to show her smugness as her plan worked like a charm Lily handed the bird over as soon as the boy was in reaching distance, unable not to smile as he clutched the stuffed animal to him like he expected her to yank it from his grasp at any moment.

Reaching out Lily grabbed the little boy, carefully tipped him back on his back, then rolling up his shirt leaned over to blow on his stomach, deliberately making weird sounds so that the boy shrieked with glee as he wiggled around like a just landed fish.

Laughing as she did the funny thing to his stomach Phoenix clapped his hands above his head, loving the funny one. Her colors were always bright and shining, like dark parent's, and she was always happy and smiling around him.

Lifting her head Lily grinned down at the little boy. "Whose you're favorite auntie?"

Phoenix gurgled, spit bubbles decorating his smiling lips.

"That's right, it's me. Because I'm the only auntie you have!" Leaning down Lily went back to blowing on her only nephew's belly.

Phoenix was still shrieking with laughter when the boys came in, standing in the doorway with bemused expressions on their faces.

"Guess we really didn't need to get our desserts to go." Albus drawled out.

"Guess not." Scorpius agreed, looking down at the bag he was carrying. "Though we were right to bring your sister dessert. Her ears have to be ringing."

The word dessert had Lily looking up with greedy interest in her eyes. "What did you bring me?"

When the two gave her innocent looks Lily scooped up Phoenix, bird and all, and traded Scorpius his son for the bag holding the desserts. That way she'd get first choice, Lily thought as she headed for the kitchen while her brother and Scorpius followed her with Phoenix, asking how things had gone without them.

With his bird squished between them Phoenix clutched the light one's shirt, a content smile on his face as he closed his eyes, absorbing the warmth and love his light haired parent was giving off for him. All was well in his world now that they were back at home with him. He loved the funny one, but he loved his light and dark parents the most.

Everyone sitting around the dining room table, Phoenix in his high chair so that he could be included, the three teens ate their desserts and discussed the coming school year. The main topics under conversation were the fact that Lorcan Scamander was now Head Boy in Albus's place, and the fact that Lily had recently run into Dionne Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, who had asked Lily to inform Albus that if he even thought of leaving the team she'd hunt him up and disembowel him. Apparently she'd spent the whole summer plotting new strategies to beat the Slytherins and losing Albus had not been part of the plan.

"Like father, like daughter." Albus stated as he rolled his eyes. He'd have to ask his dad the next time he saw him as to whether or not Dionne's father had ever threatened him like that. Apparently Oliver Wood had been pretty hardcore in his day too.

"She wouldn't really hurt him though, would she?" Scorpius asked as he looked from one Potter sibling to the other. He didn't know Dionne well, but she'd always struck him as a very…intense person when it came to Quidditch.

"Probably not." Lily admitted after careful consideration. "At least nothing we couldn't repair after she was finished tearing him a new one verbally."

Albus had to silently agree that that was a possibility. And it was probably time to change the subject, since the other man was looking more than a little worried on his behalf. Which was pretty cute, but the man was also a Malfoy. They lost hair fast enough without being overly stressed out by members of his family.

Sitting back in his chair, having finished his dessert, Albus gave Lily a questioning look. "So what did you and Phoenix do while we were away?"

"Nothing much. We had some strippers over, drank some tequila, smoked some cigars…I wanted to watch some R rated movies too, but I forgot that there wasn't a television here."

Scorpius looked over at Albus uncertainly.

Chuckling Albus reached out and clasped the Slytherin on the shoulder, giving it a little squeeze too. "She's just messing with you, Scorpius. The strippers would have gotten here and then realized she was under aged and probably couldn't afford to pay them."

"You're messing with me now too."

Albus just grinned.

"By the way, did you know how ticklish Phoenix is?" Lily asked, tempted to wind the Slytherin up some more, but sensing that her brother wouldn't let her. He was getting protective of the shy little blonde, Lily thought with a secret little smile. She couldn't be more pleased.

"Yeah, you hit him in the right spot and he goes nuts." Albus agreed with a short nod.

"He gets that from me." Scorpius murmured, sorry that his son had inherited that flaw. It was an annoying one to have.

"You're ticklish?"

Scorpius felt a shiver run down his spine at the gleam that had come into her eyes. Not good, definitely not good. "No." He said quickly, knowing fear intimately as he watched the girl push her chair back and slowly straighten up like a panther suddenly smelling prey.

"You are ticklish, you are." Grinning widely Lily stalked around the table with a decidedly Weasley gleam in her eyes. "And as your new, honorary sister, it's my obligation and duty to tickle you until you cry for mercy."

Opening his mouth to ask Albus if she was just messing with him again Scorpius survival instincts kicked in so that he lurched out of his chair and started running, the two going around and around the dining table as Scorpius struggled to outrun the faster and far more determined Gryffindor while Phoenix clapped his hands in encouragement.

His whole body shaking with laughter as he watched them Albus got out of his chair and pushed it in so that they wouldn't run into it. "All right, Lily, that's enough. Leave the poor Slytherin alone." It was funny, but someone was going to get hurt if they kept this up.

"Never!"

Rounding the table, heart pounding like mad Scorpius ran at Albus and all but threw himself behind the other man, wrapping his arms around the Gryffindor's waist as he panted for breath. "Save me." He gasped out, his grip tightening as he watched Lily's slowly approach, not looking the least worried about her actual brother's possible interference.

"Outta my way, Bro."

"Can she be bribed?" Scorpius wanted to know, turning his head so that he could whisper loudly in the Gryffindor's ear.

The boys could all but see Lily's ears perk up at the idea.

"Now you've done it." Albus shook his head, patting the hands on his waist affectionately, enjoying the touch, the closeness. Now that Phoenix was around he felt at ease with the situation, though they'd been doing okay towards the end of their dinner together. "You're that ticklish?"

"Yeah."

Putting her fingers together Lily did a Mr. Burn's impression. "Excellent."

)

Hours later, after getting Phoenix into his pajamas and into bed, Albus and Scorpius stood shoulder to shoulder as they watched their son stare up at them, the baby obviously deciding how he felt about being put into his crib for the night. That the boy was struggling to keep his eyes open meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. Like all babies Phoenix was starting to clue into the fact that he was supposed to complain about being put to bed unless he'd already passed out on his own time.

Phoenix sucked on his thumb for a bit and then obviously decided to allow his bedtime to be enforced, his green eyes losing focus as his lashes fluttered and then fell.

"I don't know about you, but I am not looking forward to him being able to verbally protest bedtime." Albus whispered as he leaned forward to better tuck the baby's blanket around their dozing off son and his bird.

Scorpius's lips twitched. "You're going to be the type who lets him have five more minutes, which somehow becomes half an hour, aren't you?"

"Oh like you're going to be able to resist him any better than I will."

"I will. We do not want a spoiled brat on our hands." Scorpius countered, all Malfoy now as he sent Albus a look that indicated he knew best. "He'll get his way too much as it is, being so special."

Albus grinned. "I argued for five more minutes that became half an hour when I was a kid and I'm not a spoiled brat."

"Hmmm."

Crossing his arms in front of him the Gryffindor gave the Slytherin a mock angry look. "Are you suggesting that I am?"

"I didn't say you were."

"Your eyes said it all." Albus wiggled his eyebrows. "And now that I know you're ticklish…"

Scorpius cheeks immediately went pink. "You wouldn't."

Albus had to admit that he was tempted, but he had a feeling that Scorpius wouldn't appreciate it and would probably hold it against him. Though he wouldn't mind the Slytherin holding him against him again, Albus silently acknowledged with a grin.

Not quite sure what to think about that grin Scorpius figured it was wise to back off. It had been a close to perfect night except for Lily chasing him around the dining room trying to tickle him, and he wanted to keep it that way. Wanted to have that memory, he thought as he moved away from the Gryffindor and the cradle. "Now that he's down I think I'll go have a bath. You?"

"I figure I'll go check on Kreacher, he wasn't looking so hot today. Then come back here and maybe read some of those notes Dionne gave me before school ended. Knowing my luck she'll have a quiz ready."

Nodding his head Scorpius walked over to retrieve boxers and a T-shirt from his dresser to change into after his bath. Folding the clothes over one arm Scorpius headed out with Albus, the two splitting up to go to their various destinations.

An hour or so later Scorpius came back into their bedroom to find Albus lying on his bed with Phoenix sprawled out on the Gryffindor's stomach, Albus's hand holding the baby in place. Absently fiddling with the towel draped around his neck Scorpius walked over to stand at the side of the other man's bed. "Get lonely?"

"He was bouncing around when I got back from Kreacher's room." Albus explained, looking down at the now unconscious Phoenix. "Guess he didn't like us both leaving the room. He conked out again once he was settled on my chest though. I figured I'd wait until you got back to put him back to bed."

Not fooled for a moment Scorpius crossed his arms in front of him. "You mean you decided to wait until I got back so that I could put him to bed so you wouldn't have to get up." When the man gave him an innocent look Scorpius couldn't help but melt under the force of the Gryffindor's cuteness. Shaking his head Scorpius leaned over to scoop up the baby, carefully setting the baby against his shoulder. Rubbing a hand in soothing circles against their son's back Scorpius walked over to return the infant to his crib, tucking the boy in and kissing his forehead good night.

A smile still on his face Scorpius looked over at the Gryffindor. "Good night, I'm turning in."

"Night, Wife."

Stumbling a little at the Gryffindor's words Scorpius came perilously close to bashing his knee into his bedpost. Shaking his head the Slytherin turned slightly to look in the direction of the other man, whose grin was visible even from where he was sitting up on his bed.

"Night, Husband."

Laughing at the Slytherin Albus settled back down in his bed, a smile on his face.


	21. Feeling The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Feeling The Bond

The two awoke to the sound of Phoenix yelling at the top of his little lungs, both turning on their bedside lights before throwing aside their covers, sliding out of their beds to hurry over to the crib where Phoenix was holding onto the railings, jumping up and down like a rabid bunny rabbit.

Reaching him first Scorpius lifted the baby from the crib, struggling to hold onto him since Phoenix immediately squirmed in his grasp, leaning forward like he wanted to embrace something in the direction of the bedroom door.

"What's gotten into him? Is he hurt?" Albus asked as he frantically looked the baby over as best he could. Phoenix wasn't crying, but the baby was obviously upset about something.

Looking up Phoenix gave his dark parent a pleading look, gesturing with all his might towards the door.

Brows furrowing Albus turned to take a look at the contents of the crib. "All the toys he has to have are in there. Do you suppose he wants his bear hat? It's not downstairs but he might not know that."

Shaking his head Scorpius sensed that that wasn't it. It was something more than that. Going on instinct the Slytherin walked towards the door, noting that that cut off the yelling right away, though not the urgency. "He wants to go somewhere. I say we let him direct."

Nodding his head in agreement Albus hurried over to his nightstand to retrieve his wand. They'd need it for light in case they were headed downstairs. Jogging back over to the door the Gryffindor opened it and motioned for Scorpius to go through and then closed the door behind them, the hallway dimly illuminated on either side of them. He was at a loss as to what Phoenix was so upset about. Did he think that Lily was still here perhaps? Their son was awfully fond of his aunt.

The baby wanted to go down the stairs so they went down the stairs, pausing when they reached the second level. Turning his head in the direction Phoenix was now pointing Scorpius's eyes widened slightly as a thought occurred to him.

"Could it…could it be Kreacher?"

The two shared a look and then took off running, their bare feet slapping against the hardwood floors.

Pulling ahead Albus reached the door first and yanked it open, hurrying through as he turned this way and that so that he could avoid the items piled up everywhere. They always kept a light burning low by the elf's bedside and with that dim light Albus could see that the figure lying on the small bed was still breathing, but in short, jerky gasps that seemed to shake the house elf's frail form.

Coming up behind the Gryffindor with Phoenix cradled against his chest Scorpius took one look at the elf and knew why their son had yelled. "Could we take him to St. Mungos? Do they accept non human patients?"

"There's no point." Albus said softly as he crouched down, gently taking one of the elf's limp hands between both of his. "Tori came to look him over a couple times but he wouldn't let her touch him. She thinks it's his heart. That and…a lack of reason to go on."

Not knowing what else to do, and going on instinct, Scorpius walked around to the other side of the bed, crouched down too, and leaning forward gently placed Phoenix beside the house elf on his side.

Immediately the baby leaned in close, placing an arm over the elf's concaved chest, looking up at the creature with such a poignantly sad and knowing expression.

While the two teenagers watched the elf's eyes fluttered open a little, the head weakly trying to turn to look in Phoenix's direction. Seeing this Albus gently reached out and carefully moved the elf's head for him so that the elf could see the baby lying beside him.

Though the eyes that gazed in Phoenix's direction were filmed over and unfocused, Kreacher's breathing slowed and there was a softening about the elf's features that suggested he knew on some level that Phoenix was there with him.

Staring up at the creature who lived with them Phoenix's eyes glimmered with unshed tears. The colors were almost gone now, the lights so dim inside the one his parents called Kreacher that he could barely see them. He didn't know what the lack of color meant, only that it was somehow wrong. Things that were like him, his parents, the funny one and the one who was like Kreacher but wasn't Kreacher…they had light and color and that was good. That the creature beside him had little color was bad.

Neither man could say how much time had passed before the elf's chest finally went still and stayed that way.

Reaching out Scorpius gently closed the house elf's eyes and then picked up the silently crying infant to cuddle the baby against his chest.

)

Scorpius had never been to a funeral for a house elf before. Apparently it wasn't the first ever, since Albus's father and friends had held a funeral for the house elf who'd served his family for a time. But it was definitely a rare thing. He wore his best suit because it was a funeral, and he wasn't the only one as he gathered with the others in the backyard of the Black family home. It was twilight, they hadn't wanted to wait longer than a day since storing the elf's body would have been a bit of a problem. And those who'd most wanted to come hadn't been able to make it till now.

Standing around the hole Albus had dug earlier was the entire Potter family, Ron and Hermione Weasley and their children, Andromeda Tonks, Teddy and Victoire Lupin with their daughter, and Tomo, who was wearing a black dress that Lily had worn as a child and had loaned the elf for the occasion. Scorpius stood at Albus's side with Phoenix, the baby having aged three months or so since the house elf's passing.

The head of the Potter family had purchased a box to put the elf in, wrapping the creature up in a quilt once made for Kreacher by Hermione, Teddy, Rosie and Andromeda brought flowers from their gardens to lay upon Kreacher's grave. For his part, and at Albus's suggestion, Scorpius had carved a large rock into a gravestone marker for the elf's final resting place. His handwriting was neater than Albus's.

They had buried the elf with a number of Black family heirlooms, things Scorpius was pretty sure would have fetched the Potters a lot of galleons. But apparently they'd been precious to the elf and that was what mattered.

He liked being adopted by a family that would do that for a house elf.

With the help of his parents Phoenix was allowed to put flowers on the grave first, his parents had helped him pick them from the backyard. They were very pretty and bright and his dark parent said they were like the stuff on his head. He didn't understand why they were being put in the dirt, but it was obviously important so he did.

Setting the flowers she'd brought on top of the grave after the baby Hermione briefly touched her fingers to the headstone before straightening. "He's with his Master Regulus now."

"He must have been holding out for the boys." Ginny murmured softly, one arm wrapped around her husband's waist, leaning her head against his shoulder. "Holding on until it was time for them to go back to Hogwarts."

Looking over at the boys Harry's lips curved ever so slightly. "But he got to end his life serving a master he truly wished to serve to the best of his ability. That's what he would have wanted, one last chance to honorably serve someone with Black blood in his veins. He died happy, I'm sure of it."

Staring down at the grave Andromeda had to agree with her grandson's godfather. This was indeed a good end for the last of the Black family servants. A very unusual end for an elf of course, but then she'd imagine that if Hermione Weasley had her way there would be a notice in tomorrow's Daily Prophet notifying the world of Kreacher's passing. Not that she thought that was wrong exactly, Andromeda mused silently, just a very…new idea for someone as old as herself.

"Do you think house elves end up as servants for their deceased masters in heaven?" Teddy asked no one in particular as he moved to stand beside his grandmother. "I mean they're so happy to serve so that would be their idea of heaven, but can it really be heaven if you're a servant?"

Hugo shook his head from where he stood comforting his mother, who was one of the few people there who was genuinely sad about the elf's passing and wasn't just there because it was the honorable thing to do. "That's one of those questions that can never really be answered, Teddy. It's right up there with why bad things happen to good people and why women insist on traveling in packs to the loo."

Rosie looked over at her little brother in amusement. "There's so much you boys don't get, isn't there?"

"Don't you two start one of your who's smarter arguments." Ron warned the pair. "You know your mother will join in and own the both of you anyway. Now's not the time either." He wasn't the most sensitive of guys, the Gryffindor thought ruefully, but even he knew that now wasn't the time or place.

Hermione's lips twitched in amusement before answering Teddy's question. "I think heaven must vary from person to person, each living within their dreams or memories. So right now Kreacher is somewhere doing what he wants to do and at the end of the day that's what matters."

Considering her words, she was rumored to be the smartest living witch of their time, Scorpius smiled a little. He was glad the sad, pain filled elf was somewhere happy now, not left behind in the house to die alone while they were away at school. He hadn't known the creature well at all, and couldn't truly mourn the elf's death, but knowing how his kind had treated house elves in the past, Scorpius figured that whatever the creature had done in its life, it had earned the right to pass from this world and into a happier one.

)

Going in search of Albus after their guests had left for the night Scorpius raised an eyebrow when he found the man lying on his bed in their room, looking up at the ceiling blankly. Since Tomo was looking after Phoenix downstairs the Slytherin walked over to sit on the bed, looking over at the Gryffindor questioningly. "Something wrong? You were even quieter than me today."

Turning his head Albus looked over at the other man for several heart beats and then spoke. "Do you think that if something happened to both of us, Phoenix would die too?"

Since someone had just died Scorpius supposed it wasn't surprising that the man was thinking such morbid thoughts. "The odds of us both passing away any time soon are slim to none, you know that. We're both only seventeen, and in excellent health. But yes, I'd imagine, if he was still a baby, and we died, he'd pass away as well. But soon enough he'll be old enough to survive without us, at least energy wise."

"And even if he did survive…who would look after him for us? Our parents would fight over him like crazy, and that wouldn't be good for anyone."

Scorpius had to think hard about that one for a minute or two. "He could go to Teddy's. You know he and Victoire would take him. And he's related to us on both sides, so our parents would have to accept that he was the best choice for the job. His blood connection to us would factor in too, maybe. And above and beyond that, they'd love and take and care of him, raise him right."

The Gryffindor considered this and then nodded his head slightly. "Yeah. That would work."

Going on instinct Scorpius reached out and gently smoothed the other man's rumpled hair down. "You're going to lose all your hair from stress if you play the what if game. And I think Phoenix would appreciate it if only one of his fathers goes bald." Ruefully the Slytherin lifted another hand to touch his own forehead, knowing that someday eventually he'd probably have to shave all his hair off or suffer a terribly receding hairline. His hair wasn't as bad as his father's had been at his age, but it wasn't as thick and full as Albus's by any means either.

Chuckling low in his throat Albus's lips curved into a small smile as he reached out to return the gesture, stroking the man's fine, blonde hair down. "Maybe you'll end up taking after your mother's side of the family. And if not…you won't look that bad with no hair."

"Says the man who will probably have a full head of hair until the day he dies."

A curious look came into the man's green eyes. "Do you think Phoenix will have the same hair problems as your side of the family?"

Scorpius shrugged, knowing that they wouldn't know that for a while yet, hopefully. "Even if he does he's got the high cuteness factor that I lack." He pointed out. "He'll be able to pull off any look."

"Ah, ah, you've got your cuteness factor too. You just don't realize it." Waving a teasing finger Albus sat up and shifted over so that they were face to face. "I would never marry a not cute wife. Cuteness is definitely one of my requirements."

Cheeks heating up from the other man's words and closeness Scorpius's eyes shyly closed to half mast. "Well I guess as your faithful, biddable wife I have to agree, huh?"

"Faithful is good, faithful is another necessary trait in a wife. Biddable not so much." Grinning, the Gryffindor leaned forward and placed a kiss on the surprised Slytherin's forehead. "Thanks for cheering me up though, Wife."

Going from pink to red Scorpius's cheeks flamed with color, his eyes huge as his face changed into the most dumbfounded expression the Slytherin had ever worn in his seventeen years of life.

Feeling a little dumbfounded himself, both because of what he'd done and the Slytherin's reaction to it, Albus was more than slightly shocked to find himself blushing just a little too.

And it was the fact that the Gryffindor was blushing too that had Scorpius calming down enough for him to pull himself together. "Want…want to go down and play with Phoenix? That would…that would probably make you feel a lot better."

"Yeah." Albus waited until the other man got off the bed and then shifted over and got to his feet as well, walking towards their bedroom door together. In tandem they headed out of the room and down the hallway in thoughtful silence until they reached the stairs. Heading down Albus waited until they were almost to the second level before speaking his thoughts. "You blush around me a lot, don't you?"

Smart enough not to look at the man and give the Gryffindor more ammunition to mull over Scorpius just nodded in agreement while looking carefully in front of them.

"I like that about you." The Gryffindor said softly. "I like you."

Surprise had Scorpius looking over with pink cheeks and an equally soft expression. "I…I like you too."

"Good." And slinging an arm over the Slytherin's shoulder the two walked the rest of the way downstairs like that.

)

As previously planned the two boys and Phoenix headed to Hogwarts the day before everyone else arrived to get settled. The set of rooms they were directed to had two bedrooms, bathroom, parlor, study, and small kitchen unit. Since it was pointless for them to each take a bedroom and alternate who had Phoenix in their room the boys had decided to share one of the rooms and reserve the other for Phoenix's stuff. Plus the boy would probably be big enough for his own room before first term came to a close. They'd gotten used to sharing a room over the past month, or at least that was what they told everyone who commented on their decision. But they'd gotten rid of the king sized bed and managed to replace it with twins without too much trouble.

After getting settled in the two poured over their schedules and their requested copies of Albus's relatives' schedules as well. They'd have to wait to see their friends'.

"But from the looks of it we should be able to pull this off without you having to drop any of your classes." Albus said as he consulted the 'Phoenix watching schedule' they were putting together. "And our short outing before has proven Phoenix can handle being away from us for a couple hours."

"He doesn't like it though." Scorpius pointed out, looking over at the baby currently lying on the parlor floor on his blanket, gnawing on one of his plastic building blocks while his grandmothers watched him fondly.

"He likes when I watch him." Lily pointed out smugly as she leaned over his brother's shoulder to get a look at the schedule they were working out.

"And you can't let your studies suffer because you're playing babysitter all the time." Harry sternly informed his daughter and the boys, just in case they needed the reminder. "He'll have to get used to not having you guys around all the time. And if he can't then you guys are going to have to take a year off until he is old enough to handle it."

Draco smirked in Harry's direction. "Maybe your kids can't handle the added pressure, but I assure you Scorpius can."

"Are we really going to play the who's kid is better game, Malfoy?"

"Why would there be a need to? One only has to look at their school records to know which son is better."

Sharing exasperated looks Albus and Scorpius just shook their heads and went back to their timetables while their fathers argued.

It was what made the two happy after all.


	22. Speaking The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Happy Birthday, Canada!

Speaking The Bond

Eventually it was time for the adults to leave the school and Lily to head up to the Gryffindor tower since it had been decided that there was no point in her helping the boys move in, going home, and then returning to the school the next day. The boys walked everyone to the door with Phoenix in Albus's arms, preening in his teddy bear hat and the little mini robes his parents had gotten for him as a coming to school present. With a grin the Gryffindor took one of the little boy's hands in his to make Phoenix wave at their departing relatives. "Bye bye, Everyone. Say bye bye, Phoenix."

"Bye bye."

Everyone froze and turned their gaze to Phoenix, who stared back at them innocently, completely unaware of the importance of what he'd just done.

"Did he just say his first word?" Ginny asked, a smile blooming on her face, thrilled that they were all around to hear it.

Eyes going wide as all the people in his life crowded around him, Phoenix didn't know why they were all excited, only that they were. And they all seemed to want something from him, though he wasn't quite sure what that something was. But they sure were happy, Phoenix thought as he smiled and gurgled at them. Their colors were all very bright and pretty.

"I don't think he'd going to say it again." Lily noted, grinning at the way the boy was looking back and forth between all the adults, obviously oblivious to what was going on and what they were all asking him to do.

"But he said it, which if the important thing." Astoria pointed out as she stretched out a hand to gently stroke her grandson's head. "He's growing up so fast."

"Which we're trying to prevent, remember?" Draco drawled out. "He's not here to start classes yet."

Scorpius smiled at his father. "The wand would be almost as big as he is."

"It would be interesting to see what kind of spells he comes up with. He could create new ones made up of baby talk." Albus added as he bounced the baby in his arms to make him giggle with glee. "Would you like that, Phoenix? A wizarding prodigy at a month old."

"We could try and teach him non verbal spells." Lily piped up, getting into the spirit of things. "Seeing as he has no verbal skills to begin with it should be a snap."

No one could argue with that, and Phoenix just clapped and gurgled away.

)

Walking through the school the next day it felt a little freaky to Albus, Scorpius and Lily to be in the mostly empty school. They'd encountered some of their teachers and the school ghosts but by and large they had the school to themselves as they timed walking distances between their classes and figured out pass off points for Phoenix. So far it was looking like there would only be a couple trouble spots, which was encouraging. Though all three of them agreed that it was a little disconcerting walking around and seeing all the various ways Phoenix could accidentally injure himself if not properly supervised. Seeing the castle through the eyes of a parent was a rather frightening experience.

Passing by one hallway on their back from their research Scorpius stopped and blinked at the display of armor and weaponry. "Okay…he is never going down that hallway. I didn't even know this was here."

"I only knew about it because of the map." Albus volunteered, looking up from the map in question.

Scorpius looked over at the map and shook his head. He'd had no idea such a map of Hogwarts existed, and apparently most people didn't. But it sure as hell explained how the Potters and Weasleys had managed to evade trouble and getting caught over the years. They'd sworn him to secrecy about the map too, since apparently it was a family secret.

"I wish I could play with the stuff in there." Lily said wistfully, studying all the pretty weapons as she cuddled her nephew against her chest. "And you know…there really isn't anyone around to stop us from-."

"Removing them would probably trigger some sort of reaction or alarm." Scorpius quietly pointed out as he interrupted her, not wanting to even think about the kind of damage the girl could accidentally do with one of the very sharp, very heavy pieces of metal. "There has to be something in place in case of thieves."

Lily's disappointment was written all over her face. "You're probably right."

Shaking his head Albus glanced over at Scorpius, as amused by the way the Slytherin was looking at his sister as he was by the expression on the man's face. The blonde did have the most fascinating facial expressions sometimes. Especially where he was concerned, which he was only just starting to notice. Why the man acted differently around him was still up in the air since he had a feeling the Slytherin would not like being called on his odd behavior.

The Slytherin had yet to call him on his 'I like you' comment from before, which was a good thing since he was still mentally debating what he'd meant when he'd said that. Did he mean that in a 'we're friends' sort of way, or in a 'I fancy you' sort of way. And it was not normal for him to be this indecisive when it came to who and who he didn't fancy, Albus mentally fumed. He was usually pretty decisive, he knew what he did and didn't like. But that was only where women were concerned apparently. Scorpius wasn't like any girl he'd ever fancied in the past.

Normally his tastes ran to strong, independent women who knew what they wanted and how to get it. Women who would fit in perfectly with his family. Scorpius was not like anyone he'd ever dated. Scorpius was…surprisingly shy and sweet, quietly stubborn with just a hint of the arrogance Malfoys were so well known for. Dignified and utterly self contained too. And while there was nothing wrong with those qualities Albus was more than willing to admit that he had no idea how he'd come to find those characteristics so damn adorable, especially in another male.

And did he just find the Slytherin adorable or was he actually interested in dating the blonde?

These were questions he needed to answer ASAP, or he was going to get himself into a lot of trouble.

More trouble than they were already in as teen, sorta working parents.

Not to mention the fact that he still had to deal with Vince and anyone else who had a problem with his relationship with the Slytherin, Albus silently added to himself.

He and his family were going to be spending the first month knocking sense into a lot of people's heads.

But how was he supposed to find out how the Slytherin felt about him, Albus mentally ranted, his mind turning back to his original thoughts. Obviously the blonde had thought he meant like in the friend sense, otherwise the other man would have definitely freaked out. But the man had freaked out over going to dinner with him that time, something that would indicate that Scorpius was maybe…sorta…possibly…either aware that he had an interest in him, or the chemistry was being felt on both sides and that had Scorpius off balance too.

He hoped that would be the case, he hated thinking he was in this alone.

"Careful!"

Albus blinked in shock as he was jerked back against a solid male chest, the Slytherin's arms around his waist to hold him in place. It took the Gryffindor a moment or two, but finally he noticed that he'd been about to step into thin air. "Opps."

"Opps? Opps!" Eyes flashing, Scorpius whirled the Gryffindor around towards him, arms once again wrapping around the other man's waist to hold him in place. "You need to be more careful. You almost fell down three stories!"

"Awww." Forgetting that his sister was watching Albus wrapped his arms around the man's waist too. "Sorry for worry you, Wife."

Lily and Phoenix laughed in delight as Scorpius went red with embarrassment.

"We're in public…stupid husband." Pulling away as he tried to pretend like he wasn't blushing like an idiot Scorpius scooped Phoenix out of Lily's arms so that he could hide his face against the side of his son's neck, enjoying the sweet baby smell while his baby's little fingers stroked his hair in affection. His son the security blanket, Scorpius thought with a small smile.

Grinning widely Lily patted Scorpius on the shoulder. "My big brothers are so cute together. Keep this up and I'll be an aunt again before you know it."

Albus rolled his eyes at his sister. "You do realize that's physically impossible right? Do you need to hear The Talk again?"

"Well according to that talk Phoenix shouldn't exist but he does." Lily pointed out with an evil gleam in her eyes. "Though I guess we shouldn't advertise, otherwise you two will be bombarded with gay couples who want the inside scoop on how you two managed to have a baby together. Ohhhhhh, can I come up with some super perverted sexual position and then tell them all that that's how you pulled it off? Can I please?"

"How did she get like this?" Scorpius asked Albus, too shocked to be embarrassed any longer.

Albus shrugged. "If you ever figure that out let us know. We've wondered that for years."

)

It was weird being the first at their tables, Phoenix sitting between Albus and Lily since they'd decided that they would rotate who would look after the baby at mealtimes. They'd decided that Phoenix would go Gryffindor his first night since that would be everyone's first glimpse of the baby and they were likely to crowd in on him. Albus's family would be able to hold them back better than Scorpius and Gabrielle could on their own. Scorpius sat at the Gryffindor table until the teachers arrived, then headed for his own table, feeling utterly ridiculous and strangely alone being the only one there, so far away from the other three members of his family.

He was thinking of them as family. Merlin help him.

As expected all the students that entered the Great Hall and weren't Slytherin descended on the Potter siblings and Phoenix like ants on a picnic, the Slytherins taking their seats with curious eyes for the baby and dismissive glances in Scorpius's direction. Gabrielle took her customary seat beside him and glared at anyone who so much as looked in her best friend's direction.

When it was time for the first years to arrive the Headmaster ordered everyone to their seats, the students doing so since they knew the older man meant business when he used that tone of voice.

Everything went as usual, the small, nervous first years coming forward one at a time to learn which house they would be in for the next seven years. The surprise came when all the students had been sorted but the hat announced that he hadn't sorted everyone and would not allow dinner to begin until he'd done so.

To everyone's shock the Sorting Hat demanded that Phoenix be brought up to the front.

Slowing getting to his feet Albus picked Phoenix up and headed for the front of the room, looking over in Scorpius's direction with a questioning look in his eyes.

Getting out of his seat as well Scorpius made his way over to meet the two, Albus sitting on the stool with Phoenix in his lap while Scorpius stood at their side, ignoring all the eyes staring at them as he watched the assistant headmaster place the Sorting Hat on the baby's head, the hat so big that the rim hit the baby's shoulders as it covered the baby's head and neck completely.

"He can breathe, right?" Albus hissed up at Scorpius.

"I would tell you if I was suffocating him, young Potter." The Sorting Hat informed the Gryffindor with a hint of amusement in his voice. "And your son has a very interesting mind. Veryyyyyyyyyy interesting."

"Can you ask him if Lily is traumatizing him behind out backs?" Scorpius asked in a low voice. "So far the only word he can say is bye."

The hat chuckled. "She too has a very interesting mind. But no need to worry, your son has little understanding of what she says. His way of looking and seeing the world is most…illuminating. And he is truly an interesting mix of the two of you. He loves you both quite a lot."

Waving his little arms up and down in excitement Phoenix gurgled delightedly inside the hat as his newest unusual friend started talking to him again in his head, which was very interesting indeed. Usually he couldn't really understand what the others much bigger than him said, but he somehow understood the Sorting Hat and was happy to be having a conversation inside his head.

Eventually the Sorting Hat remembered where they were and that he was holding up everyone's dinner. Apologizing to everyone the hat was obviously mortified by his own behavior as he gave permission for his removal.

Phoenix's feelings were made clear when he yelled his protest when they attempted to take the hat off his head. He didn't want them to take his new friend away from him and he clutched at the rim with all the strength he had, looking up at his light parent pleadingly.

"Uhm." Scorpius slowly looked over at the assistant headmaster sheepishly.

"He can return me to you at the end of dinner." The Sorting Hat suggested, flattered that the baby wished to spend more time with him.

"Fine. Now all of you get back to your seats so we can start the meal."

Everyone was quick to obey, Phoenix quite a sight now that he was once again headless thanks to the Sorting Hat.

Carrying them both back to the Gryffindor table Albus set the baby into the booster seat they'd brought for him, buckling him in and then sitting back down, staring down at his son with an amused expression while the food appeared on the table in front of them. The Sorting Hat must have been talking to Phoenix, the baby was babbling away under the hat, but what was being discussed was beyond him.

After loading up her plate and her brother's Lily took a couple bites and then addressed the Sorting Hat. "So you never said what house he belonged in, Mr. Sorting Hat."

"He's far too young to be sorted, Funny One." The Hat informed her somewhat pompously.

Lily blinked in surprise. "What did you just call me?"

"My apologies, that's how young Phoenix thinks of you. To him, your designation is 'Funny One'."

"Really?" The girl couldn't have been more delighted. "That's awesome!"

"Am I Da?" Albus wanted to know, eagerly leaning towards the Hat. "Please tell me I'm Da and Scorpius is Mum. I've been trying to explain that to him but I'm not sure how much he's absorbing."

The Sorting Hat smirked. "At the moment you are 'Dark Parent' and Mr. Malfoy is 'Light Parent'. After your hair colors, in case you were wondering."

"That makes sense. Does he have such designations for all of us?" Hugo asked from the other side of the table as he cut up his chicken breast.

The Sorting Hat was quiet for several moments before answering the Gryffindor's question. "He seems to have various ways of naming you all. Some of you are colors, smells, certain behaviors. You, Mr. Weasley, are classified as 'Cookie Smelling'. He doesn't know exactly what a cookie is, but I can sense through his mind that that is the scent he associated with you. Your sister's designation is 'Poofy', because of her hair."

"Lovely." Rosie drawled out, while her brother grinned over his designation.

Albus and Lily just laughed.

)

After dinner Albus returned the Sorting Hat to the Headmaster, much to Phoenix's annoyance, but the baby was soon distracted once they were outside the hall and surrounded by people who wanted to meet him. It had been a long day and his earlier tantrum had worn the boy out, so that that baby curled himself against his dark parent's chest and holding onto the man's robes watched the people with sleepy interest. He perked up a little though when his aunt muscled her way back over to them, dragging his light parent behind her. Light parent looked very uncomfortable, so Phoenix held out his arms so that he could give him a hug.

"Looks like he wants you." Holding Phoenix out Albus handed the baby over with a wink. "He's looking pretty worn out now."

Cradling the baby against his chest Scorpius instinctively put himself just a little behind the Gryffindor, unnerved by all the people closing in on them. He was used to being anonymous and ignored. All these eyes on him were freaking him out.

To cut her cousin and Scorpius a break Rosie put her fingers to her lips and whistled loudly to draw everyone's attention to her. "All right everyone, that's enough. Phoenix is going to be here all year, but that's only if he doesn't cause too much of a disruption here at school. He'll be causing a disruption in the eyes of the teachers and the Headmaster if you guys keep forming packs to ambush him during inappropriate hours. So let's let them get Phoenix to bed and you guys can ambush them on the weekend when we're outside and on our own free time. GRYFFINDORS, YOU'RE WITH ME!"

"You heard the lady." Hugo added, raising his voice to be heard over the sounds of disappointment. "And trust me when I say, it's best to do what she says. I have sixteen years worth of mental trauma to prove it."

Rosie gave her little brother a dark look. "Thanks for that."

"Just trying to help, Sister Dearest."

"Rightttttttttttt."


	23. Bonding Over Breakfast

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Bonding Over Breakfast

When they stepped out of their room the next morning, Albus carrying his book bag and Phoenix's booster seat, Scorpius carrying Phoenix, the Gryffindor was surprised to find Gabrielle waiting for them outside their door. Scorpius wasn't the least surprised though. He'd been expecting her, the Slytherin thought as he greeted his friend, Albus doing the same. Gabrielle's good morning was warm for her friend, coolly polite for Albus.

"I can carry the booster seat." Gabrielle stated, holding out a hand to take it.

Sensing that it was in his best interests to do so, Albus handed it over to her without protest. "Thanks for the help."

Nodding her head Gabrielle moved to stand at Scorpius's side, making it clear to both men that she was only there for the Slytherin. Not that either of them needed the reminder.

"Can I ask why you don't like me very much?" Albus inquired conversationally once they started walking in unison towards the Great Hall. Maybe it wasn't the time to ask but it occurred to him that he was going to have serious problems becoming closer to Scorpius if the other man's best friend hated him. She didn't seem to have a problem with his sister, so it couldn't be because he was a Potter. Had he done something? Said something? Because there had to be some reason she was particularly cold to him. Not outright hostile or rude, but he definitely wasn't in her good books.

Paling as much as he was capable of Scorpius looked over at Albus like he'd lost his mind.

"What?" Albus had a very bad feeling about the look on the blonde's face. "I can't make things right with her if I don't know what's wrong."

"Right, because it's so important to you that I like you. Here's a news flash for you, Potter. You're the most popular guy in school. Social outcasts like Scorpius and I are required to hate you. It's the rules of social hierarchy. He just forgets that a lot because he's blonde and too damn nice for his own good." Gabrielle added with a look in the other Slytherin's direction.

"Don't swear in front of Phoenix." Scorpius informed her promptly, doing a pretty good impression of his mother with his disapproving expression.

Ah, another discussion of teen hiarchy, Albus thought dryly, such fun. "So you hate me because I'm popular."

Actually, no, Gabrielle thought to herself. I hate you because the man of my dreams, the only guy to ever tell me that I'm beautiful, or make me feel special, or even just treat me like a girl is head over heels for you and therefore will never be the Prince Charming I grew up thinking he was going to be. That's why I hate you, but I can't say that because Scorpius means too much to me to lose him completely by betraying his trust by telling you how he feels about you, you too handsome, smart and sexy for your own good or mine, Prat.

It was going to age her horribly, she thought darkly, not being able to tell the stupid Gryffindor the truth.

"Yes…I can't like you because you're popular."

Lips twitching at her deadpan delivery Albus had to admire her honesty. "My sister is one of the most popular girls in this school, but you don't mind her."

"She's bizarre and twisted enough to be amusing. You aren't."

"So you'd like me better if I was bizarre and twisted?"

Gabrielle pretended to consider this. "No. I still wouldn't like you."

Scorpius sighed. "Just treat her like you normally do. Maybe we'll get lucky and eventually she'll start to feel bad about her behavior."

"But I wouldn't count on it." Gabrielle added with a particularly Slytherin smile.

Slugging his arm across Scorpius's shoulder, having no idea how much that would piss her off, Albus smiled at the other man. "I guess that just means that you'll have to love me twice as much to make up for the fact that your best friend hates me."

"Okay." Scorpius said automatically, the Slytherin immediately turning bright red as he realized what he'd just said.

"You know…hate might not be a strong enough word for how I feel about you, Potter."

Wisely Albus didn't comment or question her further, and the rest of their walk was done in silence.

)

Setting the booster seat down Scorpius set Phoenix into it, buckling him in before taking a seat beside his son, Gabrielle taking the seat beside him. Reaching out to try and stroke down his son's hair, which was as stubborn as Albus's, Scorpius wasn't surprised when the shots shot straight up again like the dandelion fluff Gabrielle had compared his own hair too. And speaking of his best friend….

Looking over in her direction Scorpius gave her a dark look. "You don't have to be mean to him."

"He didn't seem terribly hurt or upset." She countered, not about to apologize for her behavior. As far as she was concerned she deserved points for not being Slytherin mean to the Gryffindor.

"That's not the point."

"Actually, yes, that would be the point."

Sighing his weary acceptance of the fact that she was just that stubborn, Scorpius knew better than to get into this particular argument with so many people around to overhear them. Especially since he was being watched by most of the hall's occupants thanks to Phoenix, who was currently happily gnawing/drooling on his little fist.

"Don't eat yourself." Scorpius told his son with a stern look, though his faint smile softened it. "If you want to eat something breakfast is coming up shortly and you're welcome to try anything that appeals to you."

Phoenix laughed and shook the fist in question.

"Babies that young shouldn't be eating solid food yet."

Looking straight ahead in reaction to the disapproving voice coming from that direction, Scorpius stared into the face of one of the girls he vaguely recognized from his classes with her. "I know that. Now. Mrs. Weasley gave me a book on the subject. Phoenix…he doesn't eat. I was just joking. He doesn't like anything humans eat."

Another seventh year who was sitting on the other side of the table piped up. "Then what does he eat? He's obviously eating something, he's a lot bigger than he was in the article in the Prophet."

Not at all use to being talked to nicely by his fellow Slytherins Scorpius explained, in fits and starts, all about Phoenix, including the baby's diet and how he had come to be so much bigger since the picture for the Prophet had been taken. It surprised the blonde that they were all talking to him, but it didn't surprise him that the girls at least all thought Phoenix was very adorable. On that he couldn't have agreed more.

When their breakfast appeared before them Scorpius automatically gave Phoenix a spoon, knowing how much the baby liked to make faces at himself in the silver's reflection. It would keep the curious tyke occupied long enough for him to eat some of his breakfast before the baby demanded his full attention. The baby didn't like being ignored in favor of food, though he and Albus were hoping that would change when they could actually converse with their son in a language all of them could understand. Then Phoenix could express himself in a way that didn't require an intense study of the baby's body language and facial expressions.

And he did manage to get some food in in between answering the questions being posed about the baby by his interested housemates. But as expected the baby grew bored with looking at himself and tossed the spoon back onto the table, squirming in his seat as he looked up at Scorpius with an expression that said that he was not going to stay in the booster seat without protest unless it was somehow made to be worth his while.

Reaching out Scorpius undid the straps and picked the baby up, cuddling him up against his chest with one hand holding Phoenix in place while the other stroked his son's back in soothing circles. Maybe he'd be lucky and the baby would fall back asleep.

No such luck.

Switching holds Scorpius settled the again squirming baby into his lap, the baby's face just visible over the table.

The baby was obviously not sure what the make of this new view of his strange new world, but it was enough to hold his interest as he studied the food piled there and all the people who were looking at him and trying not to at the same time.

This eating place was different from the eating place from when it had been dark out, Phoenix thought as he studied his surroundings. The people around them didn't have a lot of bright colors, these ones were darker, more…controlled. Like light parent's colors. There were a few whose colors made his stomach hurt, but most of them were nice enough. There had been one at the other eating place the night before whose colors hadn't been nice either. He didn't want the not nice colors near him or his parents or the funny one.

The girl sitting beside his light parent had dark colors today, but the colors closest to her were nice, pretty colors. She wasn't feeling good today. He didn't like that, he liked the girl. She smelled pretty and had given him his birdie. He loved his birdie. His parents hadn't let him bring his birdie with him.

That thought had Phoenix tipping his head back to give his light parent a vaguely annoyed look.

Looking down Scorpius hastily finished chewing his hash browns before speaking. "What's wrong? Are you missing your other father? You'll see him again soon."

Phoenix did what the funny one sometimes did when she was annoyed with someone.

He stuck his tongue out.

)

Sitting at the Gryffindor table Albus couldn't shake his feeling of annoyance even as he tried to understand why it bugged him so much that the Slytherin girls near Scorpius were all talking to the blonde. It was probably all about Phoenix of course, babies were serious chick magnets, but still, it was annoying him on some basic level. It was annoying the hell out of Gabrielle too, Albus thought with a rueful little smile. Which he thought was one of the reasons she was determined not to like him. The girl had serious sharing issues where Scorpius was concerned.

It appeared he was developing a similar problem.

At his best friend's side Davey kept his voice down as he cut into his sausage with his knife and fork. "Vince is looking at you again."

"I'll deal with him sometime today." He hadn't had a chance to the night before and boy was he not looking forward to their first conversation.

"He really roughed Gho-Scorpius up that bad?"

"According to Molly he did. Scorpius won't talk about it. I'm guessing it's been going on for a while." Which really, really pissed him off every time he thought about it. "And it's going to stop now."

"And you're that sure you can stop him?" When his best friend gave him a dark look Davey hunched his shoulders. "I'm not saying you can't be a badass when you want to be, I mean hello, best friend here. I know what you're capable of. What I'm saying is that you were somehow oblivious to the way Vince treats guys with families like Malfoy's, so what makes you think that's going to change? I mean if Scorpius doesn't come running to you every time Callendar says or does something how are you even going to know what's going on between them?"

Emerald green eyes narrowed threateningly. "You knew Vince was beating up people for no good reason and you didn't tell me?"

Davey rolled his eyes in turn. "Forgive me for thinking I didn't need to point out the obvious." And because it was Albus he was talking to the Muggleborn reached out to pat the other man's shoulder. "Look, it's not your fault you tend to see the best in people. It's in your blood."

"Yeah, and it got my dad's parents killed."

"True, but he considers you his friend. He wouldn't hurt you." Davey pointed out. "And mostly he just insults and taunts them. Or if they play Quidditch he tries to cause them to crash or make out with a Bludger. I've never seen him actually beat up any of them. And I would have said something to you if I'd seen him kicking the crap out of someone like Ghost, who never fights back when people pick on him."

Albus's frustration was written all over his face. "But why doesn't he fight back, at least with words? He can, though he's never really been that angry at me. But he can lecture."

The Muggleborn shrugged his shoulders. "Ask him."

"I will. Later. He's not going to like talking about it."

)

Waiting at the half way point between Albus's first class and his Scorpius waited for the Gryffindor to finish his class, Phoenix in his arms. His first class was Ancient Runes, and if the other man didn't hurry up he was going to be late for his first class of the day. This was not the way to start their first school term as co parents, the Slytherin thought even as he caught sight of the man jogging towards him with a sheepish look on his face.

"Sorry, sorry, I got sidetracked by people wanting to ask about Phoenix." Reaching out Albus took the baby from Scorpius. "You've got Ancient Runes next, right? Good luck with that. And don't work too hard."

"You kind of have to in that class." Adjusting the strap of his school bag Scorpius smiled at Phoenix before meeting the Gryffindor's gaze. "See at lunch."

"See ya then." Albus agreed while Phoenix waved good bye.

Returning the gesture with a wider smile Scorpius turned and headed off in the direction of his first class with the smile still on his face. He hadn't gone far though before the hair on the back of his neck started to stand on end as his survival instincts kicked in, recognizing that something or someone nearby meant him ill. And from long experience Scorpius knew instinctively who that someone was. He was surrounded by people at the moment, so he was safe, but it was only a matter of time before the Gryffindor managed to get him alone. Callendar seemed to have a knack for culling him from the rest of the student body, Scorpius thought darkly as he instinctively picked up speed.

He hadn't gone far before he heard his name being called in a voice that wasn't as familiar to the Slytherin as Callendar's, but one that had the blonde stopping in his tracks none the less as he turned to face the new captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team.

The man went solely by Flint, people who called the Slytherin by his first name tended to end up in the Medical Wing for a while. Fierce looking and intimidating as hell people had been known to run from the Slytherin when he aimed his ice blue eyes in their direction. And right now those eyes were pinning him in place like he'd been frozen there.

"We'll walk and talk so you aren't late for class."

Nodding his head automatically Scorpius wasn't sure if this was going to be worse than if Callendar had moved in on him. Falling into step beside the taller man Scorpius shot weary glances up before returning to staring straight ahead.

"I hear that Potter's staying on the team, and you guys are going to be sharing a room for the rest of the year." Flint said in his low, rumbling voice. "I want you to know that I'll beat the shit out of you if you pass anything you learn from Potter onto any of my teammates. I don't care what they threaten you with, you keep your trap shut and come to me. I'm taking Wood down this year and she is not going to be able to accuse me of cheating, got it?"

Insult registered on the blonde's face. "I would never betray him that way!"

"I didn't think you would, but just wanted to make it clear upfront in case I was wrong. I don't know you well."

"Well I won't so you have nothing to worry about. And I'll tell you if any of your teammates are trying to spoil your victory over Wood."

The Arctic blue eyes studied Scorpius for a moment and then nodded. "All right then. And you'll want to watch out for Callendar too. He was back there looking at you like you were a wounded zebra to his lion. That Gryffindor's got a serious hard on where you're concerned." He knew that the Gryffindor Chaser had regularly picked on Malfoy in the past, he'd never seen the point in interfering since that would only make it worse for the blonde in the long run. Well that and if he'd taken the prick out the way the Gryffindor deserved everyone would have thought he'd done it to better his house's chances of getting the Quidditch Cup, and Wood wouldn't have shut up about his dirty tactics until the day the harpy died. But it was going to get a hell of a lot worse now that the other man was shacking up with Potter, Flint thought with the slightest shake of his head, and he wasn't sure that the older man was aware enough to realize that.

"I can handle Callendar." Was Scorpius's stiff reply, annoyed and embarrassed that the man had brought it up.

"It will be interesting to see you try." The Slytherin captain answered in a voice that said clearly that he didn't have much faith in the blonde's ability to take care of himself. "Now I'll let you get to class, he's not behind you anymore."

Scorpius's good bye was stiff and formal, but he was smart enough not to risk getting on the sixth year's bad side for no good reason.

"Later."


	24. Protecting the Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Protecting the Bond

Heading back towards their bedroom Albus cuddled Phoenix against his body, his school bag strap across his chest so that his hands were free. He traded greetings with various people, stopping multiple times so that people could admire his son and fuss over him. Thankfully the hallways soon cleared up as the next classes started and he could move more freely, Phoenix lively in his arms with much waving and squirming as he tried to see everything around them.

When the baby started clapping and reaching out his hands in a certain direction Albus glanced that way, spotting Gabrielle on the flight of stairs directly below them. Calling out her name the Gryffindor hurried to catch up, grateful when she waited for him instead of ignoring him. He wouldn't have put that past her.

"Thanks for waiting."

Crossing her arms in front of her Gabrielle watched him make his way to her side, doing her best to ignore the extreme cuteness of the baby in the Gryffindor's arms. "What do you want?"

"Do you have ten minutes? I want to talk to you about something important. It's about Scorpius." He added, since she was liable to think he wanted to continue their conversation from earlier, before breakfast.

Gabrielle considered refusing, but was curious enough to agree to come with him to the rooms Albus and Scorpius had been assigned. The Gryffindor obviously wanted privacy for whatever they were going to discuss. Following him into the parlor area she watched as Potter set the baby down with some toys before taking a seat across from her. "So what do you want to talk about?"

"I'm going to talk to Vince today about leaving Scorpius alone." Albus stated bluntly. "But Davey doesn't think that will work and he thinks that Scorpius won't tell me if Vince starts picking on him behind my back. He won't, will he?"

Studying him Gabrielle shook her head. "He won't. He doesn't tell me either. I always hear about it second hand or because whoever went after him left marks of some sort. And your idiot friend is right, Callendar won't stop just because you told him to. You talking to him might even make things worse. He might even lash out at you too."

Albus gave her an annoyed look. "I can take him."

"I agree. You are stronger and tougher than he is. You strike me as the kind of guy who would be ugly when you're truly angry. And you consider Scorpius a member of your family now, so you'll act without a lot of mercy. Your whole family will, at least the ones here at school. And I ALWAYS have his back." She added fiercely. "But he won't come to you for help, ever. He might be a little…soft…but he has a man's pride, don't think otherwise."

Mentally Albus acknowledged the fact that he wouldn't go running to someone if he were picked on. Of course he wouldn't take it lying down either. "Why doesn't he fight back?"

"Because in most cases…he figures the people who pick on him have the right to do so."

When Albus gave her a startled look Gabrielle gave him a harsh, twisted smile. "He and I are at the bottom of the school hierarchy. We're disliked by everyone. In most cases it's the other houses against our house, and vice versa, but in our case our house hates us too. All the houses hate Scorpius because of what his father and grandparents did. For the innocent blood they helped spill, and for turning at the end, avoiding the consequences faced by the families of many of our housemates. My decision to be his friend put me in their crosshairs too. He takes their insults, name calling, and occasionally abuse without protest because he knows his family deserves that and worse for what they did. Most of them don't pick on him anymore though. Or not as much as they did in the beginning, anyway. Most of them weren't the sort who could bully someone who doesn't fight back for very long. They just ignore him now. But obviously there are exceptions. Callendar is one of those exceptions."

Grimacing Albus scrubbed his hands over his face. "That's stupid. None of that was his fault."

"You're a prince at the school because of the past, Potter. We're the paupers for the same reason. The winners decide history, you should know that. Our side lost the war, so we'll keep paying the consequences until your side has decided we've paid enough."

"I'm still going to talk to Vince."

"That's what I figured. If you decide to beat him up though…let me know so I can watch. Scorpius made me give my word not to give that bastard what's coming to him."

Leaning forward Albus held his hand out to the girl. "You have my word. And I'll find some way to protect Scorpius."

Reaching out after a thoughtful pause Gabrielle shook his hand. "Since you're a Gryffindor I won't be expecting much, but every little bit helps I suppose."

Amusement had his lips curving ever so slightly. "Thanks for that." And wanting to lighten the mood the Gryffindor kept the smile on his face even though his thoughts were troubled. "By the way, I'm to remind you to stop by my family's joke shop in Hogsmeade during our first scheduled visit. Fred really wants to meet you."

Gabrielle's cheeks pinked a little as she tried to school her features into blank indifference. "Hpmh. I have no interest in meeting him there."

"He'll just come here if you don't come to him, FYI."

The Slytherin grimaced.

And sensing that she was better than she'd been earlier, but still not very happy, Phoenix crawled over towards her, dragging the birdie she'd given him behind him. Sitting up beside her leg the baby slapped a hand on the girl's shoe, and when she looked down he held up the toy to her with both hands.

Going all gooey in spite of herself Gabrielle leaned down to take the stuffed animal from the baby, holding it against her chest. "Thank you, Phoenix."

The baby smiled back, looking quite pleased with himself.

)

Taking his seat that afternoon in his Defense Against the Dark Arts Albus pulled the note he'd written earlier and tossed it onto the desk in front of Vincent. They'd talk after class. Sitting back in his seat once the other man nodded in agreement to the meet Albus turned his mind to the fact that it was a good thing that he and Scorpius didn't have any classes together. It made the baby watching schedule a lot easier. His classes were Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Transfigurations and DADA. Scorpius's were Potions, Ancient Runes, History, Charms, and Arithmancy. Lily was babysitting at the moment.

During the entire class Albus tried to figure out what he was going to say to his friend, who was likely going to be his former friend by the end of this term. He knew it in his gut, as much as he didn't want to believe it. They weren't close friends, but they were friends and teammates. Which was another avenue he had to work with if necessary, Albus thought to himself as he doodled on the parchment in front of him. It wasn't in his nature to use his influence to blackmail people, but he would if that was what it took to protect a member of his family.

Once class was finished Albus headed out first, waiting outside the door for the other man to come out. When he did the Gryffindor motioned for the Chaser to follow him, walking off towards what would hopefully be a deserted hallway. As luck would have it there were only a few people nearby, and that was okay, he honestly didn't care that much if it got around school that he was being protective of Scorpius. That could only be a good thing.

Turning to face his friend dead on Albus got straight to the point. "I heard what happened in the stationary store. That's not to happen again, understand? He's a member of my family, the co father of my son. Your beef is with his family, so if you want to lash out at the Malfoys go after the other ones. Scorpius has never done anything to you, even though from the sounds of it you've given him plenty of reason to. Damn good reasons."

Vincent's eyes revealed nothing. "How do you know he's done nothing?"

Rolling his eyes in turn Albus gave his friend a look that said he thought the man was stupid to argue with him. "Please, I've lived with the guy for a month nearly twenty four seven. I know him. He isn't the type to get violent without a reason. Unlike you, he knows that violence just begets more violence. Not that I'm not prepared to get violent with you if you don't listen to me. I'm not as evolved as he is, apparently."

"So what? You're going to throw me over for a Malfoy? All of our years of friendship and that's it because I don't get along with your new roommate?" Fury suddenly bloomed in the other man's cold eyes. "Is he shagging you, is that it? It is, isn't it? Are you out of your bloody mind? He's a fucking Malfoy!"

Albus gapped at the man, actually taking a step back when Vince crowded in on him since the man's words had completely thrown him off balance. "What the hell kind of potion have you been inhaling, Mate?"

Callendar stare at into the other Gryffindor's eyes for several long moments, the fury leaving his eyes like it had never been as he took a step back, something resembling satisfaction in them now as he continued to study Albus, his voice taunting. "So much for you knowing him then."

And with that the Chaser turned on his heels and strolled out of the hallway.

Remaining where he was Albus scratched his head in confusion, not quite sure what the hell had just happened. Everything had been going according to the basic plan and then suddenly Vince had shattered that to pieces by suggesting that he and Scorpius had been shagging. No, he'd suggested that Scorpius had been shagging him, which was so not how it would be if that were to ever hypothetically happen, the Gryffindor thought with a sudden scowl. He would definitely be the one on top.

Not to mention the fact that Scorpius was not the kind of guy who would use sex to get what he wanted. For one thing the Slytherin had too much pride, but more than that the man had everything but a sign around his neck proclaiming the fact that he was still a virgin. He'd eat the Sorting Hat if that wasn't so.

Shoving his hands back into his pockets as he headed back towards his rooms to drop off his book bag Albus turned over the other implications to Vince's words and actions in his mind. Vince had stated that he must not know Scorpius that well to be so surprised, and since Scorpius wasn't the type to sleep around did the other Gryffindor mean…was he suggesting…that while the Slytherin wasn't the type to sleep around he was the type to shag other men? Was that it? Was Scorpius gay?

The man had said he'd be fine with being a bachelor for the rest of his life, and he'd never once seen the Slytherin so much as look at a girl in a way that would suggest he was checking her out. Scorpius had treated Victoire and Dominique the same way he treated Rosie or Molly, who were pretty but not in his Veela cousins' league either.

Well that would certainly make things…interesting considering his growing feelings where the Slytherin was concerned. If Scorpius was indeed gay, he didn't have any concrete proof of that after all. And the other man probably wouldn't appreciate him just coming right out and asking him about it either. He could ask Gabrielle but that would not end well either, Albus thought with a wince.

And more importantly, did Vince have some concrete reason to believe that Scorpius would want to shag him?

So many questions, and it was only the first day of school, Albus thought ruefully.

)

After dinner that night the two boys got Phoenix tucked in for the night before hauling out their bags and books to start working on their homework. Their small study wasn't meant for the use of two people so they'd moved the desk to the middle of the room. With a chair on either side of the desk they faced each other with their books piled on opposite sides of the table. It wasn't an ideal situation, but both had to admit it was sorta nice to have company, especially when they were stuck on something and needed to talk it through. This was especially true for Albus since Scorpius had taken most of the Gryffindor's present courses until after fifth year, and therefore knew something about the subjects.

"They shouldn't be allowed to give homework on the first day." Albus grumbled as he closed one of his textbooks. Looking in the Slytherin's direction the Gryffindor tilted his head to the side so that he could get a look at the textbook being read by the other man. "Why did you decide to take History into your seventh year? I mean seriously, how can you stand it, much less pass it?"

Scorpius looked at the Gryffindor from over the top of his book. "I not only pass, but do better than your cousin Rosie in it because I love the subject, and because I read history books on my own so that I know what I'm supposed to be learning in the class."

"You did better than Rosie in that class? Man but that must have pissed her off."

"I don't know if she knows. Binns isn't exactly the type of teacher that asks for feedback from his students during class. I wouldn't know that I did better than her if it hadn't been for the fact that my grandfather made it his business to know how my grades compared to hers."

That sounded like something Lucius Malfoy would do, Albus decided. The man had lost so much, he had to take his small moments of pride wherever he could find them.

"So how was your first day, by the way?"

Keeping his gaze on the book's pages Scorpius kept his voice emotionless. "It was fine, yours? Besides the homework I mean."

"It went pretty good except for the part where I talked to Vincent Callendar. That part was more than a little weird."

That had the Slytherin setting the book down automatically so that he could look the other man in the eye. "Talked to him about what? Quidditch tryouts? That's coming up, right?"

"No, we talked about you. Everyone told me it wouldn't do any good, but I'd feel bad about beating the shit out of him if I didn't at least give him a heads up that that was what was in store for him if he picks on you again. And I'm aware you won't come running to me, everyone said that too. Apparently they all think you're too much of a man to do that."

He'd known that Albus would confront Callendar, and he'd known it was too much to hope that the other man would keep the situation between himself and the other Gryffindor. He was surprised that apparently people thought he wasn't so pathetic as to run to others for help, but that was a little gratifying. It didn't change the fact that he wished the man hadn't confronted Callendar though. It probably would only make it worse.

Sensing where the man's thoughts were going Albus felt bad, but what else could he have done? He couldn't turn a blind eye to what Vince was doing, it wasn't in him.

"He said something that struck me as pretty funny, want to hear?" The Gryffindor asked, wanting to lighten the mood a little.

Scorpius doubted he'd find it funny, but asked anyway. "What did he say?"

"Vince got it into his head that you convinced me to champion you by screwing my brains out."

Opening and closing his mouth several times Scorpius didn't know what to say to that. He was too shocked to even blush.

"That was my reaction. I mean really, what was he thinking? You screw my brains out? Please. If anyone was screwing anyone's brains out in this family it would be me."

Still in shock Scorpius's brain was functioning just enough to get the fact that Albus was essentially saying that he wasn't capable of screwing the other man's brains out while the Gryffindor was capable of screwing his brains out. "You're not the only man in this family, you know." The Slytherin muttered under his breath, trying not to visualize images to go with the other man's words.

Shifting so that he wasn't completely sitting Albus reached out to ruffle the blonde's hair. "I know that. But you have to agree I'm right. I mean just look at the first letter of our first names." He teased, winking at the Slytherin. "A is for alpha, S is for submissive. Sorry, Mate, but fate dictated I'm right."

"And P is for passive and M is for masculine." Scorpius shot back, his Malfoy pride flaring.

Breaking out into delighted laughter Albus leaned forward with a gleam in his eyes. "Let's see, middle names then. S is for smart and H is for half wit."

"I get better grades than you do. If I'm a half wit than what does that make you?" Scorpius shot back, though there was a hint of amusement now that he realized that the other man was trying to make him feel better.

"Smart enough to know that I could take you down any time, anywhere." Was the Gryffindor's saucy reply.

"Could not."

"Could too."

"Could not."

"Could too." Albus shot back. "Wanna bet?"


	25. Status Bonding

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy this latest chapter.

Status Bonding

Scorpius had refused to take his challenge, which hadn't surprise Albus in the slightest. And he'd allowed the Slytherin to think that the conversation was dropped, not wanting the other man on his guard. But he was just bidding his time. Homework first after all, the Gryffindor thought slyly as he dipped his quill in his inkwell. So he acted like everything was normal and waited until their homework was done and they'd packed up for the night to act.

As soon as they were in their bedroom Albus brought it up again. "So you really think I couldn't take you down if I tried?"

Looking at the other man warily from the corner of his eye Scorpius wasn't quite sure what to make of the man's tone of voice or the return to their earlier conversation. He had a bad feeling about it. "I'm not questioning your masculinity." He said stiffly. "I'm just saying you should respect mine. I'm NOT a girl."

"I could take you down just as easily." Albus countered with a sparkle in his eye.

"Could not."

Smiling, Albus leapt into action before the man could have a chance to run away, moving to stand behind the Slytherin as he wrapped one arm around Scorpius's waist, the Gryffindor holding him tight enough to keep him place.

Then the Gryffindor used his other hand to start tickling the blonde without mercy.

Gasping as he started laughing uncontrollably as he was tickled within an inch of his endurance Scorpius squirmed and pleaded to be set free in between laughing hysterically, unable to hide the fact that he was outrageously ticklish.

Not about to stop Albus kept tickling away, while in the back of his mind he registered the fact that all the Slytherin's squirming was having a very interesting effect on him. A very unexpected effect, that thankfully the blonde wasn't noticing. And boy was his Slytherin ever ticklish! Even worse than Phoenix. It was so adorable.

So he kept tickling until he felt all the fight go out of the other man, and then he lightly tossed the Slytherin onto the nearest bed.

Rolling onto his back Scorpius struggled to breath, wheezing for air. What air he managed to get in left his lungs quickly when the Gryffindor joined him on the bed, straddling him.

Reaching out Albus encircled the man's wrists and pinned them above the Slytherin's head, grinning widely as he stared down into the shocked blonde's face. "Pinned ya, I win. And note, I used my brains as well as my brawn, so I get extra credit."

In some corner of his mind Scorpius knew that the man was saying something, but all he could think was that Albus Potter was pinning him to a bed. He could die a happy man.

"Say 'Uncle' and I'll let you up."

Belatedly clueing into what the Gryffindor was saying Scorpius was distracted enough by his hormones not to think about what he was saying. "If I want to be let up I'll get up. You're the one who can't sleep in your current position."

Delighted with Scorpius's spunky reply Albus grinned. "You really think you can sleep with me on top of you?"

Hell no. But he wasn't about to admit that. "Why not, you aren't THAT fat."

He might be willing to do just about anything for the man, but he was a Malfoy. An over abundance of pride was genetically encoded into his DNA. He might not care what others thought of him, but Albus mattered and he didn't ever want the Gryffindor to mistaken him for some girlie boy.

"FAT? Fat?" Albus gapped at the man. "This is all muscle, I'll have you know!"

"That's what they all say."

Letting go of the Slytherin Albus sat up and grasping his shirt hem lifted it up to reveal his undeniably hot chest. "I dare you to find anything to pinch."

Cheeks flushing pink Scorpius couldn't believe what he was doing even as he reached out and placed both his palms side by side on the man's chest. The skin was so smooth and soft, but what was underneath was hard and solid to the touch. Spreading out his fingers Scorpius stared at his hands, forgetting that he was supposed to be acting like a man who wouldn't sell his soul for a night with the Gryffindor.

Staring down at the man's hands too Albus swallowed hard, his muscled contracting under those pale, elegant hands. Okay…he really needed to start using those brains he'd been bragging about earlier.

"Okay, you aren't fat." Scorpius admitted in a small voice as he withdrew his hands.

"And I'm more Alpha than you."

Scorpius's face scrunched up stubbornly.

He wouldn't have admitted he wasn't Alpha either, Albus thought as his lips twitched over how cute the Slytherin looked when he was being stubborn. And he really needed to get off the man before he did or said something stupid. The problem was he just couldn't seem to make his body move from its current position. It really, really wanted to stay where it was.

Thinking along the same lines Scorpius sat up on his elbows. "You should be getting to your own bed. We have school tomorrow."

"We're on my bed."

"Oh."

The blush that spread over the man's cheeks had the Gryffindor acting without thinking, leaning forward to place a light, butterfly kiss on the Slytherin's lips. "We'll consider that my reward for besting you tonight then and call it a day, Wife."

And on that note Albus forced himself to get while the getting was good and rolled off the Slytherin and onto his back, turning his head to meet the other man's gaze, taking pleasure in the fact that the man's cheeks were bright red. Only he seemed to have that large an effect on the blonde. He liked that.

Staring into the man's eyes in turn Scorpius remained where he was, his expression dumbfounded.

"What? Am I a bad kisser on top of being fat?" Albus teased, trying to hide the insecurities that were starting to creep up on him. It had been the briefest brushes of lips, but now he couldn't stop staring at the other man's mouth, wanting a full taste of it.

Scorpius shook his head slowly and turning forced himself to sit up and turn so that his legs hung over the side of the bed. "I'm…gonna get my stuff and get ready for bed."

"Me too."

Busying himself by pretending to sort through his drawer for his pajamas Scorpius told himself over and over again that the brief brushing of lips meant nothing, that the Potters were just the affectionate sort and he shouldn't read more into the gesture. It hadn't been areal kiss, he told himself sternly, but oh it had been so close.

So very, very close.

Neither man said a word to each other after that, except for their habitual good nights.

They didn't sleep much either.

)

The two men weren't noticeably awkward with each other, but there was a definite undertone between them for the rest of the week. Since most people weren't used to seeing them together they didn't pick up on the change, those closest did and speculated amongst themselves. The first week of school went by fairly well until Saturday morning, when Dionne called for early tryouts so that she would have everyone broken in by the time the matches actually started.

And she did mean broken in literally. Dionne Wood had caused many a broken bone, pushing her teammates to their limits again and again in the pursuit of Quidditch perfection. Even the captain before her had been afraid of her.

Albus's place on the team was considered secure, though he was fine if he was replaced, or at least said he was since that would give him more time to help take care of Phoenix.

Scorpius wasn't fooled of course and said so. He knew the man well enough to know that his fellow parent would be crushed not to be on the Gryffindor team in his last year.

When the Gryffindor asked Scorpius to come to the tryouts with Phoenix as his good luck charms the Slytherin had balked, stating that he wouldn't be welcome and that Lily was the better choice. Albus had countered that his sister never got out of bed earlier than she had to, which was one of the reasons his sister had never tried out for the Quidditch team.

In the end Albus successfully guilted the other man into agreeing to come, though Scorpius insisted that if his presence wasn't wanted by the other members of the man's house the Gryffindor would have to accept that.

As a result of the deal Albus went around to all the other members of his team save for Vince and talked them into not making a fuss about the Slytherin's presence since it was just tryouts. They weren't terribly thrilled by the idea of Malfoy being there, but they trusted Albus's judgment and reserved the right to ban Scorpius from practices.

Dionne went into vivid detail as to what she'd do to him if the Slytherin turned out to be a spy.

So on Saturday morning Scorpius got up early with the Gryffindor and dressed a sleepy, half awake Phoenix for the morning. He picked a red, footsie pajamas outfit for the boy since it was one of the Gryffindor's colors and the baby would be comfortable in it and maybe go back to sleep. Albus wouldn't be able to see that from the air, Scorpius thought with a small smile on his lips, and neither of them wanted a cranky, sleep deprived baby on their hands.

Wrapping a blanket around the baby in case it was still really chilly outside, Scorpius cradled Phoenix close and headed out with Albus, mentally crossing his fingers as he hoped that things would go well.

When they arrived at the Quidditch pitch they found a decent amount of people had come out, but not nearly as many as had come out when Albus had first tried out. Most of his house had the sense to realize that as glamorous as being on the team was…Dionne didn't take kindly to anyone who didn't have the same dedication to the game as she did.

Though no one loved Quidditch as much as she did, Albus thought as he raised a hand in greeting. Turning his head the Gryffindor smiled at the nervous looking Slytherin. "I'm going to head onto the pitch, try to stay awake in the stands, okay?" Reaching out he ruffled the blonde's hair affectionately, then did the same to Phoenix's for luck.

Brushing down his hair with his free hand Scorpius couldn't help but smile, picking up on the man's nerves and eagerness to get started. The man loved Quidditch, no doubt about it. "Good luck, not that you need it." And he didn't. Scorpius had no doubt the man would make the team again.

Yawning widely Phoenix smiled sleepily at his dark parent, not sure what was going on but happy to be with them.

"Thanks, Buddy." Lowering his head Albus kissed the baby's forehead and then with a last wave jogged off to join his team on the pitch.

Vince was obviously not happy to see him and gave him a dark look.

Walking over to meet him Dionne sent a look in Vince's direction before coming to a stop in front of her best player, aside from herself. "He's been told to leave Malfoy alone, like you asked. Fat lot of good it will probably do, but I did it." Since the bastard in front of him had told her point blank that he'd quit if he had to worry about the other Chaser coming after Malfoy all the time. "But like I said before the Slytherin isn't welcome at practices, nor is anyone not on the team for that matter. I am grinding Flint into the pitch this year and nothing is going to stop me."

Albus saluted her. "Thanks, Dionne."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just win me my cup by a landslide this year or I'll work you like a dog."

"Which would be bad. I've always been more of a cat person."

"Smartass."

"It is a mighty fine ass, isn't it?"

Reaching out Dionne whacked him upside the head, smirked, and called her the tryouts to a start.

)

Sitting in the stands with a barely conscious baby in his lap Scorpius did his best to ignore the people sitting in small groups around him as he watched the tryouts going on. He'd been watched over during his classes by Albus's cousins, friends, and Gabrielle, so that aside from his first day this had been his most abuse free week at school that he could remember ever having.

It couldn't last.

So he expected the worst when people started edging closer to him, and all but jumped out of his skin with surprise when a Gryffindor he didn't recognize suddenly took a seat beside him. Turning his head Scorpius looked at the other man questioningly. "Uhm…yes?"

The unknown Gryffindor studied the Slytherin from several moments and then spoke. "The Potters and Weasleys are vouching for you around school. They say you aren't like your family. And I've been going to school here for five years, and never had a problem with you, so maybe they've got a point. I'm Corbin Fisher."

Staring at the offered hand Scorpius slowly raised his own hand and shook the Gryffindor's. "Nice to meet you."

"My brother's trying out for the team and I'm here for moral support. There's no way he's getting on the team this year, but he's got a thing for Wood for some reason. Personally, she scares the hell out of me."

"I think it's fair to say she scares the hell out of most people. She's like Flint that way. She doesn't even have to say anything, she just looks at you and you want to hide in the nearest suit of armor." Wood had never picked on him, but she was in his year and had pretty much looked at him like he was dirt beneath her feet since day one. Both her parents had fought at the Battle of Hogwarts. Though to be fair, Dionne Wood seemed to dislike anyone who didn't worship at the altar of Quidditch the way she did, which was another thing she and Flint had in common.

Obviously thinking along the same lines Corbin smiled. "Wood and Flint…the fates definitely have a sense of humor there."

Scorpius nodded his head. "So…did you come over here to see Phoenix?"

The Gryffindor shook his head. "Nope, Dionne wanted my opinion of you. We're neighbors back home." He added with a smirk. "I'm very good when it comes to reading people, getting a sense of who they are beneath the masks we all wear. Her Evilness wanted to know why Potter threatened to quit the team if she didn't lean on Callendar about you."

"Wait…what?"

"You didn't know then? Potter told her he'd quit if she didn't tell Callendar to lay off of you this year. And he had to be damn serious, to go head to head against Dionne that way. She did not take kindly to being blackmailed, let me tell you. If it weren't for the fact that she's almost as obsessed with beating Flint as she is with Quidditch, she'd have told him to go to hell and kicked him off the team."

"He's lucky she didn't shove a Snitch down his throat and hold his mouth closed." Horrified over what Albus had done Scorpius ran a hand through his hair, immediately adjusting his hold on Phoenix when the baby he held started squirming, picking up on his parent's inner turmoil. "There, there, it's okay. Your other father's just been an idiot."

Phoenix gave his light father a look that said he didn't appreciate his dark father being called an idiot.

"He's an interesting mix of the two of you, isn't he?" Corbin noted, leaning in to get a better look at the baby. "Your hair, Potter's eyes, and the Weasley ears."

A loving smile curved on his lips as he looked down at his son. "Yeah, he is, isn't he?"

Studying the Slytherin's face Corbin smiled a little too. He was starting to see why Potter would risk Wood's wrath for the blonde. There was something…soft and gentle about the man's air now that he was looking at him as a person instead of a Malfoy. The way he held the baby so tenderly, looked at him…and his reaction to what Potter had done for him said a lot too.

"So what are you going to do when members of your house team pressure you for info about ours? You know they will."

Not surprised by the question, the man had probably been ordered by Wood to ask him that, Scorpius nodded in agreement. "I would imagine so. Flint has already unnecessarily informed me that should I pass on any information he will beat me to a pulp. I'm to turn over the would be cheaters to him. He really wants to rub it into Wood's face that he beat her fair and square."

"I hear he's expected to be almost as brutal as she is now that he's a captain too."

"I wouldn't doubt that either."

Phoenix suddenly interrupted their conversation by squirming in Scorpius's arms again as he twisted onto his feet, bending his little knees as he bent up and down as he reached his arms towards the sky. The two looking up, they immediately saw why.

The boy's Gryffindor's father had taken to the air.

Holding the little boy's waist to keep him steady Scorpius smiled as the boy threw off his sleepiness as Phoenix went nuts, the baby thrilled at the fact that his father was currently flying through the sky. Or freaked out over the fact, it was hard to tell. Either way the baby didn't take his eyes off his parent for even a moment until the man had landed once more, securing his position on the team for another year.

Scorpius applauded the performance right along with his son.


	26. Bonding With Air

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy this latest chapter.

Bonding With Air

Once the tryouts were over most everyone departed from the stands, those who were on the team remaining on the pitch to be lectured some more by their captain. After saying good bye to Corbin Scorpius headed down towards the pitch with Phoenix, wisely staying on the edges of the playing field so as not to get in trouble. He knew better than to get too close. His presence was barely being tolerated. So instead he stood by the sidelines until Phoenix's squirming got really bad. Then, after some thought, he withdrew his wand and used it to transfigure the handkerchief in his pocket into a hovering, dinner table sized 'magic carpet'. Setting Phoenix down in the middle of it the Slytherin used his wand to make the 'carpet' fly around in lazy circles while the delighted baby bounced up and down on his bottom, waving his hands up and down like he was doing the wave.

Concentrating on what he was doing since his wand was what was keeping the handkerchief in the air Scorpius's shoulders bunched with tension. Which he knew was stupid since it was only hovering a foot off the ground in case Phoenix somehow managed to fall out, and the baby seemed quite comfortable in the middle, but still...it was a parent's job to worry stupidly, Scorpius thought ruefully.

So the Slytherin didn't see Albus come up to stand beside him, the Gryffindor's arm tipping him off as the other man slugged it over his shoulder.

Turning his head Scorpius smiled up at the man before turning his attention back to what he was doing, completely forgetting about their interested audience as he alternated between enjoying the touch and worrying about Phoenix.

"That's my son all right. Though taking him up on my broom with me would be better." Albus pointed out in a cajoling tone of voice. He'd already expressed his interest in doing just that, and had been thoroughly shot down.

"No."

"But-."

"NO."

A pout settling on his face, and forgetting their audience as well, Albus leaned his head against the blonde's, cuddling his body against the Slytherin's side. "Why not? You know I'd be really, really careful. My dad took me up on his broom when I was little."

"And having anticipated this question I asked your mother how old YOU were when she and your father started taking you up on their brooms with them. She said the rule was that your dad couldn't take any of you up until you could walk. Phoenix can't walk yet. Same rules apply."

"You're letting him fly solo." Albus muttered, like a kid denied a cookie.

"On a table sized soft surface. A foot in the air, and I control every movement of the handkerchief. Still no, Potter." Scorpius's voice broke no argument as he let the baby down gently on the grass, walking over to retrieve an annoyed Phoenix, who didn't appreciate the fact that his ride was now over. Settling his son on his hip the Slytherin leaned down to snatch up his oversized handkerchief with his free hand before straightening up.

Walking over Albus handed his broom over to the Slytherin, trading it for his son. Holding the boy by his waist with both hands the Gryffindor held the baby over his head. "Sorry, little guy, your mum says I can't take you flying with me yet. We'll work on him though."

"I am not the mum." Scorpius hissed, pointing the top of the broom in the other man's direction.

"But he has to have a mum." Albus shot back innocently, grinning at the Slytherin knowingly. "Every boy should have one."

"True, but in this case you'd be the mum, Potter." Dionne informed the man, her posture and smirk saying it all. "After all, from what I read in the Prophet, Malfoy wasn't even there when Phoenix was born. Just you. You hatched him, you're the mum. Nature dictates it to be so." The Quidditch captain fluttered her lashes to add insult to the injury. Blackmail her, would he, she thought as she grinned at her seeker wickedly.

Knowing what she was thinking Albus figured he deserved at least some of her ire. But still, he was so not the mum in his family with Scorpius. The Slytherin was definitely the mum, no matter what the laws of Mother Nature were. But knowing better than to argue with his captain when he was currently entrenched in her bad books, Albus just asked her if he could head out instead of getting into the mum debate with his teammates and Scorpius.

Dionne pretended to consider the question, and then handing her broom off to one of her beaters smiled at the baby and held out her arms. "After I get a look at him."

Grinning right back Albus walked over and handed Phoenix over to his captain to fuss over, everyone amused by how quickly the baby had the girl fussing over him.

He'd be back in her good books in no time.

)

When they arrived back at their rooms so that Albus could stow away his Quidditch gear before breakfast the two men set Phoenix in the middle of Albus's bed while the Gryffindor stowed his stuff and Scorpius went to get a new outfit for Phoenix to wear since the day was shaping up to be unusually warm. With an invisible barrier around the bed they knew they could leave him there for a few minutes without having to worry about him falling off it.

Sitting back against his dark parent's pillow Phoenix played with his toes, occasionally looking around when he heard his parents talking or the sound of birds outside the bedroom window.

And getting bored with his toes quickly, he could play with them all the time, Phoenix turned his attention to crawling around, confused when he could only move so far. Why was that? It made no sense. If he turned to his side he could stretch his hand out, but when he turned the other way his hand touched something, something that he couldn't see. Banging his hands against what he couldn't see Phoenix frowned in annoyance, not able to understand what was going on.

Walking over Albus grinned and reached in to pick the baby up. "Trying to get out, Buddy?"

Pleased to be back in the air Phoenix smiled and gurgled his approval.

Scorpius undid the barrier as he came up beside him with a new outfit in his hand. "Lay him down so we can get him changed. We're going to be cutting it close as it is."

"Yes, Master." Albus said in his best impression of an Igor character.

The Slytherin didn't get the reason for the strange delivery, but it was amusing none the less. Laughing, Scorpius shook his head as he stripped off the baby's clothes and then replaced them with the new outfit.

Pumping his little legs Phoenix smiled up at his light parent, enjoying the sound of the man's laughter and the beauty of his smile. Light parent and dark parent were happy; therefore he was very happy too. Today, so far, was a good day. Everyone's colors were pretty.

Once the baby was ready to go the three headed out, none of them surprised to see Gabrielle calmly waiting for them across the hallway. Lily's presence was a surprise, but the girl was a constant surprise to begin with. Greeting both girls they headed off towards the Great Hall, Lily carrying Phoenix's chair this time since the baby would be sitting at the Gryffindor table for breakfast.

"So heard you made the team once again, Bro. Congrats."

"Thank you, thank you very much."

"So this will mean that Scorpius will be taking on a heavier load in carrying for Phoenix." Gabrielle pointed out as she reached out to stroke the little boy's head, giving the Gryffindor a disapproving, knowing look.

All his attempts thus far to win over the female Slytherin had proved fruitless, very little he said or did met with her approval. So he'd decided, at least for the time being, to take her attitude the same way he handled his brother's teasing. To let it slide off his back and pretend she was teasing him too with her attitude. "No worries, Elle, I'll find a way to pick up the slack."

The female Slytherin gave him a dark look. "I haven't given you permission to call me by the short version of my name. Only Scorpius can call me Elle. And Phoenix, when he's old enough." She reluctantly conceded.

Linking her arm through Gabrielle's Lily gave the older girl a big eyed look. "Can't I call you Elle too?"

Gabrielle was not used to being around girls, she only had the brothers and she and her mother weren't that close. She'd never had any female friends, no friends save for Scorpius. She didn't know how to relate to others of her sex. But she did sort of like Lily Potter in spite of herself. There was something about the girl that made her grow on people.

So as much as her first instinct was to refuse the girl, Gabrielle found herself stiffly giving her permission inspite of herself.

"Yay." Lily grinned and hugged the girl's arm.

Since they both wanted to live and had a son to take care of, neither man risked Gabrielle's wrath by reacting to her pleased, embarrassed response to Lily's show of affection.

)

After breakfast the men headed outside with Phoenix and the girls, finding a nice, leafy tree to sit under so that all the people who wanted to meet Phoenix had a chance to. And they came in droves, all wanting to get a look at the baby and ask the two questions about him. Lily and Gabrielle helped the two maintain order, no one wanting to mess with any of the baby's protective guardians. Especially Gabrielle, who watched them all like a serpent just waiting for the right moment to strike out. Phoenix might not have been her son, but he was most important to Scorpius, so she'd let no harm come to him on her watch.

The student body got that message loud and clear.

For his part Albus found her protective nature both amusing and touching. And it was always good to have multiple people looking out for his son's welfare, the Gryffindor reasoned as he politely got the latest group to move to make way for the next batch. It would probably take a couple weeks before everyone that wanted to had had a chance to meet his son, then hopefully the fuss would die down a little.

Though who could blame them?

His son was the most adorable baby to ever crawl on the planet.

Walking over to join them Hugo took a seat beside his cousin, withdrawing something from his pocket after greeting them. "I made this yesterday in history class for Phoenix. I thought he'd get a kick out of it."

What Hugo held out was a round, sturdy piece of paper with string on either side. There was a birdcage drawn on one side of the parchment, and on the other a bird. When he spun the paper by the strings the bird flitted in and out of the cage in a simple, optical illusion.

Phoenix watched with interest, but couldn't make the toy spin which visibly frustrated the little boy, so that he soon lost interest in it.

"Don't feel bad, Hugo, he'll like it when he figures out how to play with it. Or should I say when his fingers are able to work it properly." Albus grinned and started playing with the toy instead, enjoying the illusion even more than his son had.

Amused by that fact Scorpius didn't say anything, just let the Gryffindor play with the toy while he supervised Phoenix meeting with the other students coming over to see them. The Slytherin's amusement died a quick death though when he spotted a familiar group of girls coming towards them. Familiar because the leader of that particular group was ruled by none other than Naomi Sutherland, Albus's former girlfriend.

Damn.

"Hello, Al, Lily, Hugo." Naomi gave the two Potters and Weasley big smiles, cordial ones to the two Slytherins. "Malfoy, Gabrielle…isn't it?"

The look Gabrielle sent the Hufflepuff said she could care less what the girl called her.

Albus and Lily returned the greetings, while Malfoy nodded his head in acknowledgement of the girl's greeting.

"And this is little Phoenix." Kneeling down on the quilt the Hufflepuff held out her arms to the little boy. "Hey there, sweetie. We didn't get to meet properly when your daddy brought you to meet me. Will you let me hold you, Baby?"

The girl's colors were nice, but something had Phoenix instinctively glancing up at his light parent. And the color changes there had the boy looking back and forth between the two, then climbing into the blonde's lap, fisting his little hands on his light parent's shirt as he tried to climb up it.

Blinking in surprise Scorpius did what came natural and reached out to lift the baby up onto his shoulder, his heart going to mush when Phoenix nuzzled his little face against his neck, the baby's little hand patting his cheek in a comforting motion. Turning his head he nuzzled his baby back as he cuddled Phoenix close.

"Sorry, Miss. Sutherland." Scorpius said softly. "Meeting all these people has finally gotten to him it seems."

"Picture time too, definitely." Lily pulled out a camera from her book bag and aimed it towards the two cuddling blondes with a wide, smug grin on her face. Once the picture was taken the Gryffindor stowed the camera back in the bag and then grinned innocently at the Hufflepuff. "Aren't they just the cutest together, Naomi? I was telling Al just the other day that he was lucky to have such an adorable family. Lord only knows who he could have ended up with after all."

Silence descended as everyone within hearing distance tried to figure out if Lily had meant for that to be insulting to Naomi or not.

Deciding that she had Gabrielle smiled at the redheaded spitfire. "I couldn't agree more." Then realizing that she'd just insinuated that she liked the idea of Scorpius, Al and Phoenix being a family, Gabrielle's lips curved into a scowl.

Albus gave both girls looks before smiling at his former girlfriend in apology. "I'll introduce him to you another time, when he's not feeling so shy. Normally he's a real people person and loves everyone. But every once in a while it gets to be too much for him and he gets shy. So how are you doing, Naomi?"

Taking a seat beside Albus, obviously knowing where her bread was buttered, Naomi struck up a conversation with her ex boyfriend while pretty much ignoring the rest of them. That worked well though, because they all eavesdropped and definitely got the vibe that while the Hufflepuff was still interested, Albus was not. Which certainly improved Scorpius's mood quite a bit and in turn improved Phoenix's mood so that the baby was once again in high spirits. Soon the boy was giggling away in the Slytherin's arms, waving his little hands at Lily, who waved back just as enthusiastically at her nephew.

"So, Al, do you have any plans for next weekend?" The Hufflepuff asked her ex boyfriend, setting a hand on top of his on the quilt. "I was thinking maybe we could go into Hogsmeade together, if you don't have anything planned. We could take Phoenix with us of course, you know I love kids."

She did, but she wouldn't be spending much time with his son or his, Albus thought as he gave her a regretful smile. He still liked her plenty, but she was quickly becoming history now that he had Scorpius to obsess over. And wasn't that just a bludger to the head, Albus ruefully mused before answering his ex. "Sorry, but I have plans for that day, Naomi. Scorpius, Phoenix and I are introducing Gabrielle to Fred and then supervising the meeting."

"I'm coming too." Lily added, not about to miss the fireworks. Technically it should be a peaceful meeting since her cousin just wanted to thank Gabrielle for helping out his dad, but she knew Fred too well to think trouble wasn't likely to happen.

Naomi looked back and forth between Albus and the Slytherin in question, her confusion written all over her pretty face. "Why would you need to introduce her to Fred? I get the need for supervision; I know your cousin never got along with her brothers and vice versa. Wouldn't it be better to just not introduce them? I can't see her brothers liking the idea of Fred near their baby sister."

"He has to introduce us because his idiot cousin's decided to be my slave for the rest of his silly existence." Gabrielle informed the girl with a smirk. "And the fact that it will irritate my brothers in one of the few reasons I've agreed to meet the twit."

"You? He's going to be your slave? Fred Weasley?" The girl's disbelief was plain on her face.

"Yeah. It should be interesting." Was Gabrielle's amused reply.


	27. Baby Story Bonding

Disclaimer: As always we'll own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in.

Baby Story Bonding

As Scorpius, Flint and many others had predicted, members of the Slytherin team attempted to waylay the Slytherin after the Gryffindor tryouts, intending to intimidate him into agreeing to be a spy against the Gryffindor team. Luckily for all involved Scorpius headed them off before they could get far into their descriptions of what they would do to him if he refused to cooperate. All he had to do was tell them that Flint had forbidden him from talking to them and would come after them if they pressured him for information, and they were more than eager to leave the blonde's company.

And not surprisingly Flint hunted him down half way through the second week to find out if any of the Slytherin players had approached Scorpius about helping them cheat.

The younger Slytherin caught up to Scorpius just after he'd gotten Phoenix from Lily, who had been watching her nephew while her honorary brother in law and Albus were in class. The baby didn't seem to mind Flint presence though, and waved at the captain with a wide grin as the Slytherin fell into step beside them.

Meeting the man's penetrating gaze as squarely as he could Scorpius knew better than to try and lie when the man demanded to know if he'd been approached. The younger man wasn't the type you could successfully lie to. "Only two of them approached me and they both backed off as soon as I mentioned your name. I don't think they'll bother me again but I'll let you know if they do. Or sic Dionne on them if you'd rather not trouble yourself. She wanted their names too."

"I'll bet she did." Was Flint's slightly amused response, not doubting that his fellow captain would more than be able to handle herself against two Slytherins. He'd pay to watch in fact. But be that as it may the would be cheaters were his to punish. "They're on my team and I'm their captain. I'll deal with them myself." He had plans for the two cheating bastards all right, the Slytherin thought darkly. They would probably quit the team, but he'd still get them.

Scorpius didn't want to know what the man had planned for the would be cheaters. "That's what I told her you'd say."

"Bet she didn't like that."

"No, that she didn't." Scorpius agreed, not caring for the reminder. Albus's captain could scar a man for life without even trying. "Wood's got it into her head to maybe use Phoenix here as the Gryffindor team mascot so she didn't argue with me too much when I told her I was going to leave them for you. She wants to capitalize on his cuteness to get the other students rooting for Gryffindor instead of their own houses."

Turning his attention to the baby watching him with interest from the blonde's arms, Flint had to admit that she might be right. The kid was pretty damn cute, the Slytherin thought as he reached out and rubbed the top of the boy's head with one hand. "So you've decided he's a future Gryffindor?"

"Well he'd probably be happier there than in our house. He likes a positive atmosphere."

"Hmm." Flint gave the baby a considering look and then neatly plucked the infant from Scorpius's surprised arms, holding the baby close for further inspection before cuddling the gurgling baby against his chest. "I think this little guy could fit in at any house. Maybe if he spends enough time around the present Slytherins they'll all grow up to be more positive and their children will be nice to be around. He could even end up coming here with my sisters depending on how fast he keeps growing. They'd love you, Kid. Anything cute is theirs for the cuddling."

"That's right, you have four sisters, don't you? They're seven or eight if I recall correctly."

"Eight." Flint confirmed with an expressive eye roll that spoke volumes as to how much trouble the four girls could be.

Scorpius could believe it. Everyone in the Wizarding World knew the story of how the Slytherin captain had come to have four sisters. The man's mother had always wanted a girl, but kept having boy after boy. Flint had two younger brothers who were in their third and first year. After the third boy Flint's mother had given up having a girl naturally and had turned to potion experimentation in the hopes of insuring her next child would be a girl. Generally opinion was that she would have had a girl anyway, but the potion was blamed for the fact that she ended up pregnant with quadruplets.

"Yeah, so be thankful you just have the one. You don't know hell until you've tried to babysit a teenager and four children all at once."

He couldn't help but laugh, though judging from the look in the other man's eyes he should probably be thankful he was an only child. "I guess that's why you're so tough. You've had to be to survive your siblings."

"I'd die for them…but I definitely don't mind being here at school where no babysitting is required."

"That bad, huh?"

Flint smirked and launched into a story about the time his brothers had attached fireworks to his sisters' dolls and the female fury and revenge that had erupted as a result.

)

Albus walked with Rosie, Dionne and some of his other friends on his way back from his last class of the day. He was in a pretty good mood right up until Rosie pointed in the direction of a nearby hallway, drawing all their attentions there to see what had caught her attention. And standing in that hallway, laughing together, was Scorpius and Flint, his son in the Slytherin captain's arms, apparently quite happy to be there.

Phoenix was playing with the man's tie, and Flint didn't seem to mind. Or didn't notice since he was so absorbed with whatever he and Scorpius were talking about, Albus thought darkly, his fingers clenching automatically at his sides.

"I didn't know they were friends." Davey commented, surprise in his voice. "I didn't think Malfoy had any friends besides that girl always with him. I mean friends before we got to know him and he grew on us." The Gryffindor added, not wanting to set his best friend off.

"I don't see how Flint is any improvement on that Goyle girl." Was Dionne's opinion on the subject.

"What do you suppose they're talking about?" Rosie asked no on in particular. "I mean I've never seen either of them grin like that before."

Well that did it, Albus thought as he left his startled group and headed for the two Slytherins with a single minded focus driven by jealousy and possessiveness. Scorpius and Phoenix belonged to him and there was no way in hell he was going to share them with anyone, much less Flint. So what if the man was in the same house as Scorpius, the Gryffindor mentally ranted to himself irrationally. HE had a kid with the blonde after all. That definitely made up for the fact that he and Scorpius weren't in the same houses.

Spotting the Gryffindor first Flint had to work hard not to laugh at the look in the Gryffindor's eyes. Now wasn't that interesting, the younger man thought as he forced his face into neutral lines, keeping his thoughts to himself for the moment. "Potter."

"Flint."

"Hello." Scorpius said softly, not quite sure what to make of the intensity in the Gryffindor's green eyes. Something sure had the other man riled up though, that was for sure.

The Gryffindor acted like the other Slytherin wasn't even there as he worked up a fake, cheery smile for Scorpius. "Good thing I ran into you, now we can all walk back to our rooms together." Turning to face Flint Albus held out his arms to take his son back, not liking the amused gleam in the other man's eyes as the Slytherin captain handed Phoenix over to him. "Say bye bye to Flint, Phoenix." The Gryffindor added, since he was aware he was being an ass to Flint too.

"Bye, bye, Fwinty."

"Fwinty? Wait a minute…did you just say his name?" Albus asked his son slowly, plainly horrified over the fact. "You aren't supposed to say his name before Mummy or Da, it's a rule."

Phoenix just blinked up at his dark parent, not sure why the other man was upset.

Scorpius wasn't either, but reached out and patted the Gryffindor's shoulder in a comforting gesture anyway. "There, there, it's no big deal. What's important is that Phoenix has sort of added a new word to his vocabulary." Flint was a word after all, even if the baby had sort of garbled it.

"It is too a big deal." Albus shot back fiercely, glaring at the blonde who backed away slightly under the force of it. And realizing what a jerk he was being, the Gryffindor forced himself to work up yet another fake smile, this one obviously artificial. "But never mind, let's go, shall we? We need to stow our stuff and get Phoenix's chair."

Nodding automatically, Scorpius softly said good bye to the other Slytherin, not sure why Albus was mad at him, just that he was.

"Yeah, bye. Bye to you too, Phoenix." Flint pointed a finger in Albus's direction, not at all bothered by the hostility the other man was sending his way in waves. It more amused than annoyed him. And they had something to talk about that required a lack of audience. "You I got something to say to. Malfoy, go stand somewhere else for a moment, will you?"

The blonde waited until Albus had handed Phoenix over to him and motioned him to go before he reluctantly joined the group of the Gryffindor's friends watching from a safe distance, looking over his shoulders a couple times worriedly.

Flint waited until he was sure the blonde was out of hearing range before turning his full attention to the openly scowling Gryffindor in front of him. "First, shove the attitude if you know what's good for you, Potter. He gets enough of it from everyone else. Second, what you two do in private is your own damn business and none of my never mind, but you're going to want to tone down the possessiveness when you're in public, Potter. There are a lot of people, one in particular, who won't take kindly to having your relationship with Malfoy rubbed in his face, capice?"

"If I want your opinion I'll ask for it." Was Albus's cold response before turning on his heels to rejoin his family and friends, feeling the Slytherin's eyes on him with ever step he took.

For his part Flint watched the group until they were out of sight, wondering whether his words had sunk in at all. Probably not. Maybe he should have been a bit more specific as to why it wasn't a good idea for the Gryffindor to let anyone know that he and Malfoy were getting very close, the Slytherin pondered. Apparently the man was aware that Callendar was after Malfoy, so maybe a serious warning was pointless. But it would be just like a Gryffindor to be overconfident about his ability to protect others from harm.

Oh well, he'd just keep an eye on things, just in case.

He definitely wouldn't mind an excuse to kick Callendar's ass.

)

Once they separated from the larger group Scorpius became more and more aware of the tension and repressed emotions coming off of Albus. Phoenix was obviously aware of it too, and was unusually quiet as he watched them both with big, solemn eyes. He didn't know what to say to the other man, he wasn't used to the Gryffindor behaving this way. There wasn't anyone close to him who dealt with their anger this way. Gabrielle got sarcastic, his father got defensive and verbally nasty, his mother went on shopping sprees, and he tended to state his anger and then remove himself from the situation and person or persons causing his anger.

Should he say something? Should he just keep quiet? Should he make sure he was the one Albus was angry at? Maybe Flint had said something.

Scorpius was no closer to figuring out what to say by the time they'd arrived at their rooms.

They both stowed away their school bags, Phoenix hugging his bird on the floor, watching them with interest while his stuffed animal sang.

And well aware he was being a jerk Albus walked over to stand behind Scorpius after putting away his bag, wrapping his arms around the very tense Slytherin. "I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at me mostly. I was a jerk. You can yell at me if you want. You're family, so that entitles you."

Relaxing a little as he was cuddled close Scorpius didn't know how to take the mood swing. "Why were you mad at yourself?"

Albus thought about lying, but he figured that their relationship had progressed to the point where he could be honest about things. "I was kind of jealous. I didn't like you looking like a family with Flint."

Of all the possibilities that had run through his mind that had most definitely not been one of them. And it was the shock of the statement that had the Slytherin turning in the other man's arms so that he could look into Albus's eyes. "You…you didn't like…I don't understand. Why would you be jealous?"

Leaning forward the Gryffindor placed his forehead against the Slytherin's, his arms tightening around the man's waist. "I suppose I got used to having you and Phoenix all to myself, I don't like sharing you with anyone."

"Oh."

Watching the color flood the Slytherin's cheeks Albus grinned, feeling infinitely better at that familiar show of emotion. He was the one who made Scorpius blush. He was the one holding Scorpius in his arms like this. Scorpius was a member of his family and that was a bond that couldn't be broken.

Very slowly Scorpius reached up to lightly place his hands on the man's lower back. "We're okay now?"

"Better than." Was Albus's confident reply as he smiled, then added a little something, just to see what the Slytherin would say. "And you know, along with the possessiveness I seem to have developed a liking for hugging you. Hope that's okay."

Going all warm and fuzzy Scorpius leaned into the embrace with a content sigh. "It's fine."

Making a similar sound of contentment Albus continued to hug the other man, since it was okay.

Yup, things were definitely looking up

)

Thrilled that everyone seemed happier now Phoenix grinned and setting aside his bird started crawling towards his parents, intending to join them in their hug. But as he crawled he happened to spot something that made him change his direction. His teddy bear hat was lying on top of a chair and now that he saw it he suddenly couldn't comprehend why it wasn't on his head like it was supposed to be.

Using to the chair as a counter balance Phoenix got to his feet, straining one hand in the direction of his hat. This threw him off balance though so that he went toddling back, arms pin wheeling as he tried to stay on his feet. And when he did get his balance it occurred to the baby that he was standing upright, just like his parents.

Wobbling a little as he turned his head to look in their direction, Phoenix considered the fact that they were very fast when they were moving on just their legs, much faster than he was when crawling. He'd be able to get away from them to play the hiding game if he were to move the way they did, Phoenix decided.

But just how did they get their legs to move that way?

It was his dark parent who spotted him first, immediately letting go of light parent, though he turned him in the right direction so that he could see too. He wasn't sure what they were saying to each other but they looked really excited about something and were getting on their knees, motioning for him to come to them.

Okay, how do I do that, Phoenix asked them, though he was pretty sure they didn't understand him since they just kept doing what they were doing. They rarely ever did when he tried to tell them things. It was frustrating.

So since they weren't going to be any help Phoenix looked down at his feet, ordering them to move properly. Lifting one of them he tried to take a step, and ended up stumbling forward a few steps before nose diving towards the floor, his dark parent sliding forward on his stomach with cupped hands so that his head landed and was cradled in his dark parent's warm hands.

And then light parent was lifting him into the air and telling him stuff he didn't understand but which were obviously good, especially when dark parents squished them together so that they were all hugging each other. He loved when they hugged each other like this, Phoenix thought with a happy little laugh.

"He almost walked, he was so close." Albus's face was lit up with excitement and happiness, his emotions written all over his Slytherin's face as well.

Scorpius lowered his head to place a kiss on his son's downy head. "He'll be walking any day now. He's got too much of us in him not to. Now that he knows he can get on his feet he'll be determined to figure out how to walk on them without help."

Albus didn't doubt it. "And then we'll really be in trouble, chasing him all over the place."

"Even more than we already chase him."

The look they shared said neither was looking forward to that.

"Exactly."


	28. Bonding Experiment

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoy this latest chapter!

Bonding Experiment

Rubbing the baby's back in slow, soothing circles Albus smiled as his son continued to lay limp over his shoulder, obviously out for the count. It was finally Friday night and tomorrow they'd be going to Hogsmeade to see Fred, the Gryffindor thought as he walked towards the baby's crib. Hopefully all would go well but he wasn't counting on it. Things so seldom did when it came to his Weasley cousins. But there was nothing wrong with hoping, Albus decided as he very carefully transferred his son from his shoulder to the baby's waiting blankets, gently tucking Phoenix in for the night.

Once that was taken care of and he was sure that the baby had no intention of stirring any time soon the Gryffindor headed into his and Scorpius's bedroom, the Slytherin already in bed with a book in hand. Walking over Albus took a seat on the edge of the blonde's bed, smiling widely when the other man automatically looked up and gave him his full attention. "Good book?"

"It's for class." Setting the book aside Scorpius's face shifted into rueful lines as he patted the top of the book's leather covering. "They need to get someone to update some of the stuff they have in the library. A lot of it you can't read straight through without getting migraines."

A look of concern came into the Gryffindor's eyes. "Got one now?"

"No, you saved me from getting one." Scorpius assured him.

"Good, I like saving you."

Thinking about the number of enemies he had Scorpius shook his head. "You don't need to save me, you know. I have survived seventeen years with just Gabrielle at my back and we've done pretty good. I don't want you to lose friends because of me. Well except for Callendar. If you want to stop being friends with him I've got no complaints." He did not want the man to have any reason to be anywhere near Phoenix, Scorpius thought fiercely, though he didn't say it aloud.

"I think it's pretty safe to say we're not friends anymore." Albus informed the Slytherin dryly. "And I'll keep on protecting you whether you like it or not. Starting with tomorrow and keeping you from getting caught in the crossfire when Gabrielle and Fred clash."

"Yeah…that's not going to be fun."

Albus nodded in agreement.

)

The four teenagers and one baby traveled as a group down towards Hogsmeade the next day, Lily vibrating with glee as she eagerly awaited their arrival at her cousin's joke shop. The other three teens, on the other hand, were almost dreading their arrival, all knowing in the pits of their stomachs that something was going to go wrong. They weren't sure what, but something. Phoenix had no idea what was going on and was more concerned about the fact that he was being carried and therefore couldn't continue his daily attempts to walk steadily on his own for more than a few steps. He was quickly coming to the conclusion that he was going to have to grow some more to reach that point.

The group had headed out as early as was allowed so that the streets and stores were as yet not full of their fellow students. Making their way through crowds with Phoenix was never easy since the boy seemed to call to them on some level, but it wasn't so bad for the moment and they arrived at the joke shop in good time and without having to stop every minute.

Entering the store they were greeted by Fred's part time help who informed them that the owner of the shop was in his laboratory working on one of his latest experiment. The girl had actually been just about to go back and get him, since Fred had made it clear he was expecting company and wanted to be out to properly greet them.

From past experience Albus knew better than to take anyone into Fred's work area without checking to make sure it was safe first. "I'll go back and get him then, you lot stay here."

"I'll go with you." Scorpius said in a soft but firm voice as he handed Phoenix over to Lily. He'd hoped to get a chance to warn Fred Weasley about how to behave around Gabrielle and apparently the fates were willing to cut him a break.

Opening his mouth to argue Albus wisely closed it and nodded his head in agreement. He'd go in first though, just in case.

Together the two headed into the back and down the stairs that led to the basement level of the building where Fred could experiment to his heart's content. As there were no sounds of explosions or screams Albus took that as a sign that everything was okay and made no move to stop the Slytherin when Scorpius moved to walk beside him. They found the man they were looking for fairly easily, though both blinked over the fact that since Albus had last seen his cousin the man had grown a tail and cat ears.

The large brown ears on top of the man's head twitched at the sound of their approach and Fred Weasley turned around with a wide smile on his milk chocolate brown face at the sight of them. "Hey there! Excellent timing." Grabbing something off his work bench the older man walked over to them and without a word of warning shoved something into their surprised mouths.

Both instinctively swallowing, after gagging for a moment on whatever had been shoved into their mouths, Albus was the first to recover.

"Dammit, Fred. What did you just give us?"

"No worries, Cousin. Already tried it out on myself, didn't I?" Fred pointed out as he pointed up towards his own cat ears. "Tried it out yesterday too, no problems. It just wore off too fast so I'm trying a stronger batch today. What's the point if it doesn't at least last a day after all."

Scorpius stared at the man, shaking his head over the fact that the man was experimenting on people without even saying hello first. And then he thought of nothing but the strange sensation prodding at the small of his back, yelping as he automatically slapped hands over the spot, eyes widening as he felt a strange, furry, bumpy thing growing there.

"Ah, let me help you with that." Spinning the blonde boy around without ceremony Fred slightly tugged the man's trouser down and pulled the man's growing white tail out so that it would have room. "There you go. Your system absorbed the potion much faster than mine. Interesting. Do they usually do that, potions I mean?"

Scorpius was too busy freaking out over the fact that he could feel ears growing out of his head to answer. It didn't hurt, but there were cat ears growing out the top of his head, the Slytherin inwardly freaked as he kept his hands over them, feeling them grow and expand under his hands.

"Fred." Albus's voice said it all as he crossed his arms in front of him as he glared at his cousin. "You know you aren't allowed to experiment on anyone without asking first. Do you want to have to spend all your store profits on lawsuits?" And then the Gryffindor had to uncross his arms because he had to reach behind him to free up his own growing tail.

An innocent look coming into the man's brown eyes Fred didn't look the least remorseful for what he'd done, though he was making a small effort to at least give the impression he was a little sorry he'd just given his cousin and the Malfoy heir cat ears and tails. "But I knew it wouldn't harm you guys."

"Why would you even come up with such a potion?" Scorpius wanted to know, trying to distract himself from wondering what he looked like now. Thank Merlin there weren't any mirrors in his vicinity at the moment.

"Oh, well you see I was visiting to a friend of mine, a Muggleborn, and I happened to notice that he had all these comics lying around, manga he called them, and in some of them the people had cat ears and tails. According to my friend people apparently find the idea of people with those physical attributes to be sexy and a turn on. Can't say as I get the appeal exactly, but I thought what the hey, could be fun to see if I could come up with a potion that would do that. He said he'd give five galleons for it and he is a mate and all. Figure I'll sell it here at the store too, just in case he's not just weird, which most would agree he is. Not the least because he's friends with me." Fred added with a wink in his cousin's direction.

Albus and Scorpius shared a look that said they didn't see the appeal either, though both secretly thought that the other looked very cute with cat ears.

It was at the point that the girls and Phoenix came down the stairs, having gotten tired of waiting for the men to come out. Gabrielle in particular was eager to leave and she hadn't been about to put up with any more of the curious stares she'd gotten from all the students that were coming into the joke shop.

Gabrielle stopped dead in her tracks when she got a look at Albus and Scorpius while Lily figured out what had happened from past experience and immediately ran to her cousin after transferring Phoenix into the Slytherin's shocked arms, demanding to be experimented on too.

"Now there's a good cousin." Retrieving one of the fish shaped gummies, the design illuminating his twisted sense of humor, Fred popped one into his willing cousin's open mouth.

That done Fred turned his attention to the luscious looking girl with the baby in her arms. She looked nothing like her idiot brothers, but he was fairly sure that this must be the girl-woman he'd been anxiously waiting to meet since he'd heard what she'd done for his father. "Hello there." He drawled out, giving her his most charming smile. "You must be-."

"Scorpius, did you agree to take whatever changed your looks?"

Scorpius nodded automatically, instinctively protecting the older man from her wrath.

But Gabrielle had known Scorpius for seventeen years and knew when he was lying to her. Marching forward the Slytherin handed Phoenix over to a surprised Albus and then turning to face Fred promptly drew back her fist and plowed it into his nose with every ounce of strength she had in her.

Everyone watching as Fred went down hard on his ass, blood flying out of his obviously broken nose.

"How dare you!" Gabrielle yelled as she glared down at him while he tried in a daze to staunch the bleeding. "You thoughtless bastard. How dare you just use my Scorpius that way? And don't even think about telling me it was safe, I'm not an idiot, you callous prat! The reason products need to be tested before selling is BECAUSE EVERYONE REACTS TO THINGS DIFFERENTLY! You didn't even ask him if he had any allergies first, did you? Well let me tell you something, Mr. Fred Weasley. If you EVER experiment on Scorpius again, I'll do the world a favor and insure that you never breed!"

And with one last piercing glare Gabrielle turned around, latched onto Scorpius's arm, and started dragging the blonde towards the stairs, calling out over her shoulder that she was taking him to the school's medical wing to be looked over and cured.

Scorpius knew better than to argue and sent them all looks of apology before he was pulled out of sight.

All eyes going back to Fred Albus handed Phoenix over to his sister and then moved to help Fred get to his feet, handing the man his handkerchief to use to stem the bleeding.

"I think she broke it." Fred informed them as he weaved in place, trying to get his rattled brains to function again.

"I know she broke it." Lily told him with a grin. "And in more than one place, I'll bet."

The men had to agree that she was probably right.

)

Heading back into the castle a couple hours later, Albus said good bye to his sister and then headed towards his rooms with Phoenix, hoping that Scorpius would be there. It was slow going since so many people wanted to ask him why he was suddenly sporting a tail and cat ears, but that was okay since he still hadn't figured out what he was going to say to Scorpius when he found the Slytherin. He didn't think the man had been that upset about being experimented on, but maybe the blonde had been hiding how upset he really was. Plus people would have made comments when they saw Scorpius's new look and that would have definitely bothered the other man, no matter how oblivious he pretended to be towards his peers. And then there was Gabrielle to deal with, Albus thought with a grimace, sure that she was going to blame him for allowing 'her Scorpius' to be experimented on. What ground he'd made with her was definitely gone, no question.

He did have a letter from Fred in his pocket addressed to Scorpius, apologizing for experimenting on him without permission, but not one for Gabrielle since his idiot cousin was determined to apologize to her in person.

That was so not going to end well.

But Fred had refused to listen to reason, even though the Slytherin had broken his nose in three places. Thank Merlin that his cousin insisted that all his employees be trained in basic first aid before they came to work for him. And at least the man had had the sense to realize that giving Gabrielle time to cool off was key to his continued existence on the planet.

Maybe it would help if he explained to Gabrielle that George Weasley and his children made it a habit of experimenting on people and that Fred's rash decision to include Scorpius in his project hadn't been a deliberate attempt to poison the blonde or anything. But she probably knew that since Fred had given the potion to him and Lily too. Maybe he could tell her that his cousin's actions had been a statement of acceptance, since generally all Weasley products were tested on family and friends before outside test subjects were recruited. No, somehow he couldn't see that going over well either.

Damn, he was going to be in her shit books for weeks to come, Albus pondered dejectedly.

By the time they arrived at their front door Albus was fairly confident he could handle Gabrielle, if for no other reason than he'd point out that it wasn't good to yell in front of Phoenix. Not that the earlier incident had seemed to upset the baby that much. He'd been more interested in trying to reach and play with his daddy's new ears, Albus thought ruefully, his neck aching a little from keeping his head at a slant so that the baby could reach one to fondle and giggle over.

Opening the door the Gryffindor headed inside, seeing no sign of the other man in the front parlor area. And then the bedroom door opened and out stepped Scorpius, who smiled a greeting at them as he stepped through the doorway's threshold.

The smile quickly died as his face twisted in pain as he yelped painfully, reaching behind him to open the door that had closed behind him and onto his new tail.

Setting Phoenix down on the floor Albus hurried over to the Slytherin, setting his hands on the blonde's shoulders. "Are you okay?"

Looking up Scorpius nodded miserably, gripping his throbbing tail in his hands.

Staring down at the Slytherin Albus felt like he'd been whacked upside the head in a really good way as he took in the picture the other man made. The white cat ears were tipped back, the man's grey eyes shimmering with unshed tears, and the way the Slytherin's lips were trembling in an effort not to portray how much what had happened had hurt.

HE WAS SO DAMN CUTE!

Reaching out automatically the Gryffindor tenderly slid his thumbs under the Slytherin's eyes, wiping away the tears there just before they fell as he tenderly spoke. "Don't cry."

"I'm not crying." Scorpius murmured, cheeks pinking as he refused to let any of the tears fall.

It was the blushing that did it. He'd been in control up until the blushing was added to all the other cuteness. There was only so much he could take and he'd reached his limit, Albus thought in the back of his mind as his hands moved to tenderly frame the other man's face as he leaned in to place his lips against Scorpius's.

Whimpering low in his throat Scorpius forgot all about his tail, his hands slowly coming up to settle on the Gryffindor's shoulders as he was truly kissed for the first time in his life. A slow, sweet, exploratory kiss that had him leaning into the other man, wanting to get as close to Albus as possible. He hadn't known that it would be like this, Scorpius thought dimly even as he made a sound of pleasure as the Gryffindor deepened the kiss. He'd finally been given the chance to know what it was to be snogged by the man of his dreams, but that answer simultaneously created even stronger, hotter needs in his belly that ached to be answered too.

And then all he could do was make a sound of protest when the Gryffindor lifted his head, severing the connection of lips.

Slowly opening his eyes Scorpius stared at the other man, a million questions in his eyes as he panted for air.

Albus stared at the man for a moment and then asked the most important question of the moment. "All right?"

Swallowing hard the Slytherin slowly nodded and then sighed as the other man's lips descended once more to take possession of his.


	29. Blushing Over Bonds

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situation all characters find themselves in. Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoy and have an awesome day.

Blushing Over Bonds

Bouncing energetically on his butt Phoenix clapped his hands in delight from his spot on the floor. He wasn't exactly sure what his parents were doing with their mouths, but judging from the powerful and bright colors coming from them they were happy, happy, happy. And they were giving off loads of the stuff that made him feel really good too and made him see the colors around them even better than usual. Their colors were meshing really, really well at the moment, the baby thought as he smiled up at them. That was good. He wanted their colors to always be that way.

Sighing with happiness Phoenix decided to stop clapping least he disturb them. He wanted them to keep doing what they were doing so that everyone in the room was happy, happy, happy.

When the two finally did draw apart they stared into each other's eyes, both starting to blush as they took a step away from the other, obviously trying to regain some sense of their reality.

"Why…why did you do that?" He probably didn't want to hear the answer, but the question was out of the Slytherin's mouth before his brain could start working properly. And he wasn't dreaming, Scorpius thought, remembering well the pain of slamming his tail into the door earlier. No way he'd dreamed that.

Rubbing the back of his neck Albus's face was a mixture of pleasure, confusion and bemusement. "I…well I guess…you just looked so cute."

Hands going up to cup his cat ears Scorpius couldn't keep his face from falling in hurt disappointment. "You snogged me because of the cat ears?"

He might have still been reeling with the realization of what he'd done, but Albus's brain was working well enough to both register the crestfallen expression the other man was wearing and realize the possible meaning behind that. And it was that possibility that had the Gryffindor reaching out to gently stroke the Slytherin's hair back as he forced himself to meet the other man's gaze squarely as he stammered out an explanation. "The ears were part of it…but I've been thinking about snogging you for a little while now. I've just been…telling myself it would be a bad idea, at least for the moment. Especially since I didn't know how you'd feel about the idea."

"Oh." Well he'd made his feelings clear when he'd given the Gryffindor the go ahead to kiss him again, Scorpius thought as his cheeks flushed a darker shade of red. And then it really hit him what the other man was saying. "You…you've been…but you only like girls!"

"Believe me when I say I'm aware of that fact." Shoving his hands in his pockets so that he'd keep them to himself Albus's face showed his embarrassment and frustration. "I never thought about snogging a bloke till you and I started spending time together. Then it was like you and Phoenix were all I was interested in or needed and I forgot all about wanting to date and…be around girls. At first I wondered if maybe Phoenix was doing it, ya know to make us closer, but even when he wasn't around I still couldn't help but want to be around you. Actually, it was worse when Phoenix wasn't around because then I couldn't blame all these weird feelings on him. I…I don't know what to think any more. That's another reason I didn't make a move. We're co parents, I didn't want to screw things up between us because suddenly I…I think about you more than I've ever thought about any girl. Then you had to blush and go all sparkly eyed and I couldn't stop myself. Gah!" Albus made a sound of exasperation. "Who ever heard of finding blushing a turn on? But you do it for me every friggin time when you blush, dammit!"

The man's words had Scorpius going as red as a tomato.

Albus shook his head. "And you don't even do it on purpose, sheesh."

"I'm sorry." The Slytherin said automatically, though he wasn't sorry. More like in a state of complete and total shock. Covertly pinching his arms three times Scorpius had to acknowledge that he was indeed awake, and that he'd just had his first real kiss and it had been spectacular. The second one had been even better. He'd been snogged by Albus Potter, twice. And the man he'd been fantasizing about all this time was thinking about him, wanting him, even if only a little. The fact that the Gryffindor was fighting the attraction didn't even bother him at the moment, just the idea that he could be found desirable by the other man had Scorpius happier than he could ever remember being aside from time spent with their son.

"How do you feel about me?"

The Gryffindor's words snapped Scorpius out of his happy stupor in a heartbeat. "What?"

"I said, how do you feel about me?" Albus repeated, taking a step closer so that there was less distance between them, wanting to be able to read the man's beautiful but wary eyes. "I spilled my guts, and as a guy that goes against the grain to the extreme. Your turn, Malfoy. Spill."

Unable to hold the other man's gaze Scorpius looked down at the floor. "I like you."

Shaking his head in bemusement Albus reached out and tipped the Slytherin's head up so that the blonde had no choice but to meet his gaze. "I'm up here."

"I know that." Flustered, Scorpius forced his Malfoy mask into place, wiping all expression from his face since that was the only way he was going to be able to answer the man to his face without blurting things out that he most definitely didn't want to blurt out. "And I answered you."

"I don't like that face." Leaning in Albus brushed his lips against the Slytherin's, delighted when the blonde automatically blushed and lost that remote, vaguely superior look. "I like that one a lot better. And I'm glad I'm not alone in being a bit…out to sea when it comes to this…new thing between us."

It wasn't new for him, but Scorpius nodded anyway. Albus could remain out to sea about that fact for a while as far as he was concerned.

Awkward silence descending, the two looked at each other warily, not sure what they were supposed to say or do now. They both wanted to go back to what they'd been doing earlier, but didn't know how the other felt about that or whether it was even in their best interests to do so in the long run given their confusion over the feelings they were inspiring in each other.

Finally Albus couldn't take it anymore and posed a new question. "So…so we take this…whatever this is leading to…we go slow. Very slow. Eighteenth century slow, okay?"

Uncertainty crossing his face Scorpius's brows knitted together as he tried and failed to understand what the other man meant. It sounded like the Gryffindor was suggesting they date but take things really slow, which couldn't be right, could it?

Picking up on the other man's confusion Albus sighed and silently acknowledged the fact that this unexpected attraction was screwing with both their heads. Which was good, because it was a relief to know he wasn't alone, but frustrating too. He wasn't an indecisive guy. He knew what he wanted and he'd always gone after it in the past. Now here he was, terrified at the idea of going after what he wanted because what he wanted was the pale blonde in front of him, watching him so intently with nerves all but jumping up and down in his grey eyes.

"Let's just keep all this between us for the time being, okay?" The last thing they needed was their friends and family interfering or trying to play matchmaker. And Albus couldn't quite get Flint's warning out of his head, that bad things would happen to the blonde if people knew that he and Scorpius were more than just roommates. He didn't quite get that, but the Slytherin captain had seemed so certain and he wasn't going to dismiss the younger man's instincts.

Not surprised that the Gryffindor wouldn't want anyone to know Scorpius nodded acceptance. He'd expected no less.

Trying to lighten the mood Albus tugged teasingly on one of the Slytherin's white cat ears. "You know, I thought Fred was nuts when he talked about his friend finding cat ears sexy, but I'm starting to see the appeal. At least on you."

"They suit you too." Scorpius agreed, mentally hoping that Fred Weasley did indeed intend to sell the cat potion in his store once he'd run enough tests on it.

He'd blow his allowance on a supply of the stuff.

)

Both men were still feeling uneasy about the kisses they'd just shared so they turned their attention to other things. Albus went to retrieve a textbook to read some pages he needed read for an assignment while Scorpius walked over to pick Phoenix up off the floor before the boy could get into some mischief while their attentions were elsewhere. Playing with baby would certainly distract him, or at least that was the Slytherin's hope as he settled the squirming infant against his shoulder.

It took him longer than it should have to realize that his son was squirming because he was trying to grab at his new ears.

And what the hell, Scorpius decided as he headed for his bedroom. His tail still throbbed, why not his ears too.

Flopping down on his bed the Slytherin laid his head on his pillow and then let Phoenix crawl out of his grasp, the baby going straight for his ears. Wincing a little as his ears were tugged on by curious little fingers Scorpius concentrated on looking up at the ceiling, doing his best to ignore what his son was doing as he tried to figure out how his world had spun out of control in the span of a couple hours.

Glancing through the open room to see what the two were doing, Albus couldn't help but smile a little at the two as he leaned against the door jamb. "Doesn't that hurt?"

Not looking in the other man's direction Scorpius continued to stare upwards without really seeing it. "Only a little. I hope it doesn't hurt my grandmother's cat when I do this to his ears. They're pretty finicky creatures, cats. He's always seemed to like it though."

"Can't say I enjoyed it earlier."

The Slytherin's lips curved slightly, even as he thought how much he would enjoy being allowed to stroke the other man. "Guess our son just doesn't have the right touch when it comes to cats or their ears."

Phoenix picked that moment to give his light parent's cat ear a hard tuck that had the blonde yelping in spite of himself.

"No, Phoenix, you have to be gentle with your mummy's new ears. Gentle." Walking into the room Albus tossed his book onto the bed and taking a seat close to the Slytherin's head reached out and taking his son's little hand in his moved the baby's hand in a gentle petting motion against Scorpius's cat ear.

Since Albus's full attention was on Phoenix Scorpius allowed his eyes to move to study the Gryffindor's face, loving each dip and curve that made up the man's unique and handsome profile. And then Albus's eyes flashed over to meet his and Scorpius felt the man's gaze like a heated hand stroking his bare flesh, awakening it once more to the power of his physical reaction to the Gryffindor. Swallowing hard, Scorpius couldn't have looked away if his life depended upon it.

"This feel better?" Albus asked, his voice coming out huskier than normal as he sensed the man's fierce reaction to his closeness.

"I can barely feel it." Scorpius answered in a voice just slightly louder than a whisper.

Sensing the fact that they were once again treading onto shaky and unfamiliar ground, Albus decided a slight shifting in subject was necessary as he let go of Phoenix's hand, trusting that the boy had gotten the hang of properly petting his mummy's ears. Yep, gotta stop thinking about Scorpius and petting in the same sentence, the Gryffindor told himself firmly.

"So you aren't terribly mad at Fred, are you?"

Since the man had inadvertedly precipitated the situation that had led to Albus snogging him Scorpius wasn't the least bit mad at the older man's impulse to experiment on him. "No, it's fine."

Fishing his cousin's apology letter from his pocket Albus handed it over. "He wrote you a letter, just in case. I told him I didn't think you were mad, but he wants to get into Gabrielle's good books. And he didn't want to get off to a bad start with you, seeing as you're family and all now." The Gryffindor hastened to add.

Taking the letter Scorpius read it over and then folding it up handed it back to Albus. "Would you mind putting it on the nightstand for me? I can't reach from here."

Doing just that Albus gave the Slytherin a questioning look. "So I can tell him all is forgiven."

"You can."

"Good." Albus leaned forward and patted the blonde's head before he thought about how unwise that might be.

Also not thinking before acting Scorpius's lips curved. "Phoenix must get his petting technique from you."

"That would be insinuating that when I'm petting you I'm either hurting you or you aren't feeling much of anything." Albus pointed out, not at all surprised that the Slytherin immediately looked wary and flustered. Scorpius was definitely as aware of him as he was aware of the increasingly sexy Slytherin. And that was something he had never thought he'd think of a Slytherin, much less a male one.

"It didn't hurt when you were helping him."

Reaching out the Gryffindor lightly stroked a hand over the blonde's head. "Well then, I'll have to practice so that I get a better review than 'It didn't hurt'."

)

If it weren't for the fact that she knew Scorpius would worry Gabrielle would have skipped out on dinner. But he would worry, and the last thing she wanted was him coming to look for her, possibly with Potter in tow. That would be a great way to cap off her day, Gabrielle thought darkly as she headed out with several other members of her house who were also on their way to the Great Hall. She'd overreacted, punching out Potter's cousin. Not that she was going to apologize, hell no, but she probably should have slapped him. Slapping was more ladylike. Not that she cared what any of them thought of her, she could care less, Gabrielle assured herself. And it wasn't like Scorpius hadn't seen her punch someone out before because he had plenty. She'd been beating on her brothers for picking on him since she could make a fist.

And okay, Weasley hadn't been picking on Scorpius…just possibly endangering his life along with others.

Dumb Gryffindor.

Even dumber than she'd realized, Gabrielle found out mere minutes later when she exited the Slytherin dorm hallway to find none other than the object of her irritation waiting there. To say that her fellow housemates were not thrilled to find the Gryffindor there was an understatement, thought more than a few of the female members covertly eyed him appreciatively.

Not that she could completely blame them.

Gabrielle gave serious thought to trying to blend in with the crowd to get past him, but knew with her height it was probably pointless. Not to mention the fact that there wasn't a Weasley alive who would hesitate to cause a scene if he spotted her trying to escape. So she didn't try not to draw attention to herself and gave the Gryffindor a cool, disinterested look.

Her behavior seemed to amuse him, or at least there was a definite gleam of amusement in the man's eyes as he weaved his way through the crowd until he came to a stop in front of her. "Hello again, Miss. Goyle."

"Weasley."

Opting to air on the side of caution Fred watched her carefully in case she intended to take another swing at him. "I came to apologize for my actions earlier. I wrote Malfoy a letter apologizing for any upset I might have caused him and I hope you'll believe me when I say it was never my intention to…pick on him."

That at least she believed. So after a thoughtful pause Gabrielle nodded her head. "Fine. My earlier threat still stands."

"I don't doubt it. And I assure you my cousins have made it quite clear that you are a lady of your word."

"Then if that's everything-."

"Just one more thing." Reaching into his pocket Fred pulled out the envelope containing the present he'd made for her. "This is for you." Holding it out to her the Gryffindor didn't take too much offense to the fact that she was obviously wary of taking anything from him. There were a lot of people out there who no longer accepted things from him without first getting his word that the item in question had not been messed with magically.

Curiosity getting the best of her Gabrielle took the envelope from him and carefully opening it withdrew what looked like an oversized business card. Brows furrowing in confusion the Slytherin read the words printed on the card, understanding dawning.

The Bearer of The Card, The Beautiful Miss Gabrielle Goyle, is Entitled to Any Weasley Products of Her Choosing Without Payment.

It was signed by Fred Weasley and dated that very day.

Cheeks pinking a little Gabrielle shoved the card back into the envelope and then into her pocket. "Is that all then?"

"For now."


	30. Hyper Active Bonding

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Hyper Active Bonding

Scorpius was happy. To his very being happy, Gabrielle thought as she looked over in the direction of her best friend. The man was obviously making a concentrated effort not to look across the hall towards the Gryffindor table, but even if that weren't the case she'd have still suspected Albus Potter as the cause of Scorpius's very rare, truly happy mood. He wasn't glowing, but it was a near thing. Which hurt, hurt a lot, but Gabrielle could bear this pain, seeing how happy he was. She loved him enough to be happy that he was happy. Sort of.

Looking towards the table to see if Potter was just as happy, it didn't take Gabrielle long to see that the Gryffindor her best friend fancied was making only a slightly better effort not to look at Scorpius in between every other bite.

Okay, now that hurt, Gabrielle thought as she looked away, her eyes stinging a little. But it was her stubbornness not to cry in front of everyone that had her vision remaining clear enough that she caught sight of someone who was looking in Scorpius's direction and making no effort to hide that fact. That it was Callendar watching her best friend had any thought of crying fleeing from her mind instantly, to be replaced with to the bone hatred.

Eyes glowing with that emotion Gabrielle smiled very Slytherin like when the Gryffindor met her gaze so that they could engage in a 'I hate you and wish you would drop dead this instant' glaring contest.

"Gabrielle, there's no point." Scorpius said softly from her side when he saw what she was doing. "He's not worth glaring at. Just ignore him."

"I'll ignore him when he's six feet under and I've finished dancing on his grave."

Lips twitching in spite of himself Scorpius figured it was wise to change the subject. "So are you going to punch Fred Weasley the next time you see him? He really didn't mean any harm, and he even wrote me a letter apologizing. I brought it if you want to see it."

She did not want to talk about Fred Weasley, Gabrielle thought as she reluctantly broke her eye contact with the hated Callendar to meet Scorpius's gaze. And then it was her turn to smother a smile as she really looked at him without anger, jealousy or hurt clouding her vision. Reaching out she gently fingered the cat ear nearest her. "Can you hear through them?"

"Yes, but no more than I can hear out of my regular ears, which is relief. I have a feeling people would sound a lot louder if I could hear as well as a cat can."

"It feels just like a real cat's ear." The Slytherin marveled as she tested the texture, instinctively scratching the way she would if he were a real cat, her eyes widening at the sound he made as she did so. "Scorpius…did you just purr?"

"No." He immediately responded in a voice that said that's exactly what he'd just done.

"You did. You did." Laughing in delight Gabrielle's eyes gleamed with amusement and her intention to tease him some more by making him do it again.

And having known her all of their lives Scorpius immediately placed his hands over his cat ears, whispering under his breath a request that she not make him purr at the Slytherin table. It was embarrassing enough, the way so many people were looking at his new ears and tail with interest. A lot of them weren't being subtle about it and he preferred to concentrate on remembering the kisses from earlier over and over again instead.

"Good point. Sorry."

But she smiled through the rest of supper, which made them both happy.

)

Man, they weren't even exactly dating and already he felt like an overly possessive boyfriend, Albus thought as he walked with Scorpius back towards their rooms after supper, Phoenix gurgling away in the Slytherin's arms. The baby was unusually hyper today, the Gryffindor thought, trying to distract himself without any luck. His mind almost immediately went back to supper and watching Gabrielle play with Scorpius's cat ear and the way they chatted and looked so 'couple-ish' for the rest of the meal. Reminding himself that Scorpius had made it clear he wasn't interested in the girl didn't even help. He'd never been like this with any of his girlfriends, he felt like a right prat.

It was because they still weren't on the same level, the same wavelength. Part of it was the fact that he just didn't know the steps when it came to dating another guy, and the other part was that he was pretty sure now that Scorpius was indeed gay. He'd had his suspicions before, and the Slytherin's reaction to the snogging earlier had pretty much sealed the thought in his mind. Which meant that though he'd bet his entire vault the blonde had next to no experience with other men, the blonde was still on more solid ground there than he was.

And there was this annoying little voice in his head he couldn't shut up, Albus mulled over irrationally, running an annoyed hand through his hair. The sly, ego bashing voice that pointed out that maybe Scorpius's willingness to be snogged and touched by him was just a result of the fact that they were living together and therefore very available. Which was stupid, Scorpius wasn't like that, but just how much did the Slytherin like him? And how did he find out when the man in question obviously didn't want to tell him?

"What's wrong?" Scorpius asked as he struggled to keep their overly energetic son from squirming right out of his arms.

"Nothing, just not anticipating doing my homework."

"Do you need some help with it?"

"No, but thanks for offering. Do you want me to take him?" Albus added with a jerk of his head in their son's direction, smiling over the way the blonde was obviously struggling to keep Phoenix from getting out of his grasp.

Scorpius's face shifted into rueful, thoughtful lines. "I think I've got him. I don't know what's gotten into him though. He's been like this ever since you brought him back from Hogsmeade. You don't think he accidentally swallowed something from the joke shop, do you?"

Albus studied Phoenix, amused by how happy the baby was. You'd think he was drunk almost. But the baby didn't usually put things in his mouth, and if he did he always spat them back out again. He didn't eat so…huh. A possible explanation occurring to him the Gryffindor reached out and ruffled the baby's dandelion hair so that it stuck out even more. "Maybe he's just overly happy because we are. He feeds off our happiness after all."

Recalling what they'd done when the two had returned from Hogsemeade Scorpius blushed, nodding his head in agreement that Albus had quite possible hit the nail on its head.

Laughing, Albus slugged an arm over the Slytherin's shoulder and kept it there until they reached their rooms.

Once they were inside and Phoenix was free to crawl all over the floor, Albus gave Scorpius a questioning look. "By the way, why was Gabrielle so happy tonight? I thought she'd be really angry and glaring death glares at me or something."

"Oh, she just thought it was funny that…that my cat ears were like a real cat's." Scorpius finished lamely, not wanting to admit that he'd been purring like a cat. He'd blushed enough around the Gryffindor recently. But then again, if Albus thought his blushing was attractive than maybe he should explain and then maybe the Gryffindor would kiss him again. It was worth a shot. "I…uhm…started purring when she rubbed one."

"You purred?" Albus repeated, not liking the idea that someone else had been making the Slytherin purr. Plus the blonde was blushing again, which was so distracting and messed with his head.

Okay, he shouldn't have told the truth, Scorpius thought as he shuffled his feet. Embarrassing himself in front of the man was worth a kiss, but the Gryffindor had said they were going to take things slow and trying to egg the man on was probably a bad idea. And he had his pride, which he needed to remember before he really made a fool of himself.

Straightening his spine the Slytherin met the Gryffindor's gaze squarely. "Anyway, we have homework we should be doing, right? Do you think Phoenix is fine where he is or should we let him go stir crazy in his crib? That way when he crashes he can fall right into his blankets."

Looking down at their son, who was currently piling what toys he had in the room into one big heap, Albus shook his head. "Better to keep him with us, just in case. I have a feeling he's not going to settle and crash anytime soon."

The two shared a look of agreement over that statement, both thinking to themselves that it was worth it, in exchange for the kisses they'd exchanged earlier.

"We'll just have to wear him out in shifts." Albus decided as he watched the baby try to unsuccessfully climb his toy pile. "Shouldn't be that hard."

)

Several hours later

Shutting his textbook with a final thud Albus rubbed his eyes and then packing everything up stowed his stuff in the desk or his bag so that there was no chance of Phoenix getting into it or an elf accidentally throwing something away. Stifling a yawn the Gryffindor wearily made his way out of the study and into the parlor, too tired to even work up much of a smile as he took in the fact that his son looked as hyper and raring to go as he'd been an hour ago, when they'd switched off watching him again. Scorpius, on the other hand, looked as beat as he did. The Slytherin was sitting on the floor with his back braced against the wall, watching Phoenix through very exhausted eyes.

Walking over on feet that weren't showing their normal grace the Gryffindor joined the Slytherin on the floor.

"Has he slowed down at all?"

"No."

"Shit." He was too tired to even feel bad for swearing in Phoenix's hearing. "And we're pathetic. We're teenagers for Merlin's sake. We're supposed to be able to stay up this late without so much as a yawn."

He'd never had teenage reasons to stay up this late so Scorpius took the other man's word for it as he fought off sleep. "We're not typical teenagers. They're out doing teenage stuff and we're taking care of a baby. A very energetic, get into everything if you take your eyes off of him baby."

Mentally hoping that their son wasn't going to get like this every time his parents snogged in his vicinity Albus turned his head to look at the Slytherin. "If you want to head to bed I can take over here. He can't last more than a couple hours."

When the blonde didn't respond Albus looked over and chuckled. The Slytherin was awake, barely, but obviously was in no condition to understood he'd been spoken to, much less comprehend the words. Shaking his head the Gryffindor didn't bother repeating himself. He'd probably have to carry him to bed, Albus thought with a smile, the amusement of that thought quickly fading away to heat. Not that he could easily carry the Slytherin, the blonde was slender but he wouldn't be a lightweight. Using magic to do it would be best. And damn his teenage hormones for making this so damn difficult and fraught with peril!

Not to mention he was too tired to try anything, anyway.

Lapsing into silence too as he joined the Slytherin in giving Phoenix his undivided attention, Albus jerked in surprise when, ten minutes later, Scorpius body slumped against his.

"Finally hit the wall, huh?" Sliding his arm under the other man so that he could anchor Scorpius against his side Albus leaned into the man too with a content smile on his face.

Sensing a change in his parents Phoenix looked over, eyes thoughtful as he took in the fact that they were both doing that thing called sleeping. He wasn't sure what that was exactly, but they all did it and when he did he saw beautiful things that he liked very much.

Crawling over to them Phoenix tugged on dark parent's leg and when that didn't cause a reaction the baby did the same to light parent. Still no response.

Which meant they weren't playing with him anymore, Phoenix realized, his bottom lip popping out in a pout. He wanted to play with them though. It was fun playing with his toys, much more fun than sleeping. Maybe if he brought his toys to them they'd want to play?

It took some effort but Phoenix collected all his toys and dumped them all in his parents' laps.

Still no response.

What was wrong with them?

Making a sound of disgust the baby didn't know what he was supposed to do now. He could cry, he supposed, that seemed to always get a reaction out of them. But he wasn't that upset and they got very upset when he cried. He didn't like it when they were unhappy, it made him hurt. Plus they did look awfully happy the way they were, their colors completely and perfectly meshed together.

So he sat where he was for a bit, admiring those colors that made him feel so good, and then scooting over climbed up and onto the legs of his light parent and dark parent where they were pressed together. Snuggling there Phoenix sprawled out and decided he'd close his eyes and go to sleep too.

He'd make them play with him when it was light outside.

)

Come Monday morning Scorpius was still feeling a little stiff from sleeping on the floor with Albus and Phoenix. But at least his cat ears and tail were gone, so he wasn't getting weird looks and having to worry about any painful accidents befalling his very sensitive tail. Not to mention his trousers just hadn't fit right. He was back to his normal self and since he didn't have Phoenix with him most everyone was going about their business without sparing him more than the occasional glance which suited him just fine. Back to being 'Ghost', Scorpius thought with a small curving of lips before he schooled his features to project nothing again, just in case someone was watching.

Lost in thought as he turned over in his head what they'd been talking about in his last class, the Slytherin's instincts were still in working order and alerted him to danger ahead minutes later.

Focusing Scorpius spotted Callendar right away, leaning against a hallway entrance while watching him, the Gryffindor's eyes daring him to run.

Obviously the other man had found out where their rooms were located and had known that this was the only way for him to get to his destination. And the Gryffindor knew him too well to think he'd run, Scorpius thought as his posture straightened and his muscles tensed up. It was stupid, but he'd always had too much pride to run when faced with his most enthusiastic bully. Doing everything in his power to avoid the man, yes, but he'd go to his grave laughing before he'd let Callendar think he'd scared him off.

So he kept walking and stopped only when the Gryffindor moved to stand in front of him.

"Malfoy."

"Callendar."

"So you went crying to Al, did you? Had him nag Wood into warning me off or he'd quit." Hate was bright in the Gryffindor's eyes as he stared down at Scorpius like he'd like to crush him like a bug.

Face stony Scorpius returned the harsh gaze with cool indifference. "No, I didn't. You caused him to act when you went after me in the stationary store while his cousin was inside. She told him what she saw and he's been determined to protect me from you ever since. Not once have I asked him to stand as a shield between you and I."

"I have a hard time believing that, especially since men in your family do so love to make others do their dirty work seeing as none of you have the balls to do it yourselves."

"Ask him if you like."

The Gryffindor's face tightened. "He isn't talking to me. Doesn't want to have anything to do with me apparently. He's made it pretty clear to all his friends that if they won't play nice with you they can forget hanging out with him."

"This isn't going to help change that." Scorpius worked hard to keep his voice even as the other man moved into his personal space so that their bodies were almost touching. "If you want to be friends with him again then just pretend like I don't exist like most everyone else. Show him you're willing to do that and he'll probably forgive you." Albus was the forgiving type.

Callendar sneered. "Who says I want his forgiveness?" Reaching out the Gryffindor roughly ruffled the blonde's hair, laughing mockingly when Scorpius moved out from under the touch. "Should have stayed a cat, Malfoy. Those nine lives would have come in handy."

A flash of heat, like thunder through stormy clouds came into the Slytherin's eyes. "Good thing you're still a cat then, Gryffindor, for your sake. Because while I'll tolerate a lot from you, seriously try something and I'll remove some of your lives too."

"You don't really think you scare me, Ghost."

"About as much as you scare me then. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm on my way to look after my son and Lily will be wondering where I am. Perhaps even wondering enough to come looking for me."

"You do like hiding behind girls, don't you?"

"Still hiding behind the excuse that I'm the son of a Death Eater?" Scorpius shot back. "Because there's something more, I can tell. I don't know why you hate me more than anyone alive apparently, but there's something more, I know it."


	31. Threatening The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Threatening The Bond

"Hiding." Callendar slowly repeated, fury taking over his face as he reached out and fisted his hands in Scorpius's lapels, looking closer to doing murder than the Slytherin had ever seen him in all their years facing off. "I hide from no one. Suggest that again and the only thing I'll be hiding is your skinny, worthless corpse, Malfoy. Do you hear me?"

"I hear you." He'd have to be deaf not to. And in all honesty he'd been stupid to try and feel the other man out for more information as to why he had been singled out the way he had. The hate was so deeply engrained in the Gryffindor's eyes that the answers probably didn't even matter, Scorpius thought as he stared into the man's eyes.

It was then that Scorpius heard the sound coming from behind the other man, a sound that flipped a switch in his brain in a split second. Not even thinking about what he was doing the Slytherin drew back his arms and then pushed the Gryffindor away from his with every ounce of strength he had, not even registering the sound of clothing ripping as the other man stumbled back.

Moving to get around the man Scorpius saw Callendar coming at him from the side, the Slytherin's hand going to his pocket, intending to stun the man who was getting in his way.

Lily got him first.

As soon as the spell hit the Slytherin turned his attention back to his one and only thought, which was to get to his whimpering son.

Lily was hurrying towards him, her wand in one hand and Phoenix in the crook of her other arm, the baby still making the sounds of distress that had reached the Slytherin's ears moments before.

Running to meet them Scorpius took his son from her without a word, the girl stopping with her wand and eyes remaining on Callendar. The Gryffindor was shakily getting to his feet, not easy to do since he was throwing up what looked like slugs at the moment. It was not a pretty sight.

"He crawled over to the door and started banging on it like his life depended upon it. I figured given the time that you were close and opened it; he took off before I could grab him. I saw what was going on as soon as I caught up to him." Lily told him, explaining their presence as she traded glares with the man who'd dared to think he could rough up her newest big brother. "You were warned, Vinnie." She called over to the man, deliberately using the hated nickname.

"Potter and her Poof." Was Callendar's snarled response, the look he sent them one of pure disgust.

Eyes widening ever so slightly Scorpius processed the fact that the other man either knew or suspected that he was gay. Was that a part of the hatred the Gryffindor felt for him? He wasn't the only gay man at Hogwarts, but he was the only one he knew of that had Death Eater connections. Was it the combination that made him so abhorrent to the other man?

"Better a poof than a cowardly Callendar." Lily shot back, fighting back to urge to put herself between her family and the man that meant at least one of them harm. But doing that would make Scorpius look even weaker in Callendar's eyes, which would definitely not be a good thing. "Now I suggest you go hurl slugs elsewhere before I really let you have it. Fancy being a slug, Vinnie?"

The Gryffindor glared back at her, but chose that moment to start hurling slugs again, which prevented him from telling her off. And since he couldn't very well cast spells in his condition, not to mention the repercussions of using them on a Potter, Callendar headed off without a backward glance.

Placing a kiss on his son's forehead Scorpius watched the Gryffindor go before turning his head to meet Lily's gaze, his words quietly spoken. "Please don't tell him about this."

She didn't have to ask who he referred to. "Callendar might say something and then Al will be doubly pissed off."

"He won't say anything." There wasn't a doubt in Scorpius's mind about that at least. "He'd never admit to being bested by the likes of you and I. And he wouldn't want all your friends and family after him either. He didn't hurt me, Lily. My robes wouldn't even be torn if I hadn't reacted the way I did to Phoenix calling for me."

Reaching out Lily fingered the ripped robes, the sound she made in her throat a thoughtful one as she considered his request. Personally she wanted to tell her brother, but she understood Scorpius wanting to deal with Callendar himself. And the Slytherin did know he had only to ask to have her whole family up in arms in his defense. "I'll keep my mouth shut this time if you'll give me your word that you'll tell me if he gets physical with you again. I did not like the look in his eyes and I don't think Phoenix would appreciate visiting you at St. Mungos."

Taking the hand she offered Scorpius shook it. "Deal."

"If you give me your robes I can fix it for you, so that you don't have to lie about what happened to it to Al."

"Thanks, Lily." The Slytherin's voice rang with sincere thanks.

"Hey, what are annoying little sisters for."

)

Looking at the clock Scorpius scowled at the time, knowing that Albus would be arriving within the next ten minutes. Which wasn't a good thing at the moment since the Gryffindor would take one look at Phoenix and know something was wrong. Since the incident with Callendar the baby had clung to him like a limpet and refused to let go or even play with the toys he'd tried to distract him with. It was like Phoenix was convinced something bad would happen to him if he wasn't around and nothing he did made the troubled look on the baby's face leave for long. And while it was one thing to not tell Albus about what had happened, it was an entirely other thing to lie to the man's face, especially when it concerned their son.

Dammit.

Rubbing a soothing hand up and down Phoenix's back while he paced Scorpius figured his present mood was doing nothing to improve the baby's but he couldn't help it, he was a worrier by nature.

He needed to get Phoenix happy ASAP or he was going to have a very angry Gryffindor on his hands very shortly. Not angry at him, but the last thing he needed was Albus beating or cursing Callendar to a bloody pulp. What if he got suspended for it? Or expelled? Then they'd really, really be in trouble. He'd have to leave school too. Not to mention the fact that he'd never forgive himself if Albus got a bad mark on his permanent record because of him.

Toys, playing peek-a-boo, putting music on, none of those things had worked. What else made his son happy?

He'd been so happy before, over the weekend, Scorpius thought as he rubbed his cheek against the top of Phoenix's head. He'd been so happy because…oh.

And as if on cue Scorpius heard the sound of the door to their rooms being opened.

Sometimes a man just had to do what a man had to do.

With Phoenix still resting against his shoulder Scorpius held the baby there with one hand while his other hand was outstretched as Albus came into the room. Latching onto the back of the man's head Scorpius pulled the shocked Gryffindor down for a steaming kiss hello.

Now this was something to come home to, Albus thought as he let his book bag slide off his shoulder and then wrapped one arm around the Slytherin's waist, his other hand cupping the nape of the blonde's neck, fingers stroking the smooth skin there as he hungrily returned the kiss. Taking over, as was his nature, Albus made a pleased groan as he deepened the kiss, forcing himself not to pull the other man closer since Phoenix was still between them.

Forgetting all about why he'd started snogging Gryffindor, and who could blame him, Scorpius gasped and opened his mouth when he felt the other man's tongue brush against his lips. And that apparently signaled Albus that it was okay to slide his tongue into his mouth. Albus Potter's tongue was in his mouth!

And oh wow, did that ever feel really good.

Using his tongue to make a thorough exploration of the Slytherin's mouth Albus couldn't help but pull Scorpius a little closer, Phoenix making a 'don't forget about me' sound in between them, startling him into starting to withdraw his tongue. Which apparently the blonde didn't like since the Slytherin's teeth gently caught his tongue before sucking it back into his mouth.

He'd drawn the other man's tongue back into his mouth on instinct, not wanting to break the contact, and apparently the Gryffindor really, really liked that, Scorpius thought dimly as Albus framed his face with his hands and started to seriously ravage his mouth.

Eventually though the snogging had to stop, Phoenix was stuck between them after all and it was still the middle of the day.

But both were sorry to end it.

Stroking his finger across the Slytherin's cheek Albus smiled. "To what do I owe the enthusiastic greeting?"

"Sorry, what?"

Chuckling at the dazed look in the other man's eyes Albus grinned and dropped his hands, settling one on Phoenix's head while looking down at the baby who gurgled back at him. "Hey, Buddy. How's your day going so far?"

Phoenix's expression was thoughtful, and then he smiled a little.

"Hmmm, not his usual reaction to us snogging. Though a welcome change. Having him so hyper and haywire would be a problem since we've got school tomorrow." Though waking up together as a family had been really nice, Albus thought as his eyes came back up to meet Scorpius's. It had reminded him of when he was a kid, crawling in between his parents after a nightmare or during a really bad storm.

"Did your class go well?" Scorpius asked.

"It did." The Gryffindor agreed as he took the baby from the blonde, snuggling the baby close with loving tenderness. "How's your day going?"

"Not bad."

Something about the man's tone made Albus think the blonde wasn't being a hundred percent truthful, but given what classes the other man took it wasn't that surprising. He'd die of boredom if he took even half the Slytherin's subjects. Or de-evolve until he was a single celled organism. Or a slug, like the one he'd almost stepped on on his way to their rooms.

So for the moment he'd drop it, and just relax with his little family.

)

Walking towards his next class Albus sensed approaching danger, whipping around to see his Quidditch captain descending on him like a bird of prey dive bombing a harmless little sparrow. He only hoped he didn't look like a harmless little sparrow as he held his ground and reminded himself that he'd face off against the fury only a woman could generate. His Gran was more dangerous than Dionne…probably. That his Gran loved him and wouldn't kill him was a deciding factor, but Wood needed him to play Quidditch for her.

"Dionne."

"I'm going to ask you one question and one question only. Lie to me and I will knock you unconscious, see that you get body piercings all over that ripped body of yours, and then I'll lock you in a windowless room with a Niffler."

Vividly imagining that Albus didn't think there was a man alive who wouldn't go paler at the mental pictures his mind was generating. "You know…you're as creative with your threats as my sister is."

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Was Dionne's annoyed response. "Now tell me and tell me straight, did you have a run in with Callendar earlier today?"

Albus immediately forgot about being intimidated "Vince? No, why? Is there a reason I should be having a run in with him?"

Dionne studied him closely and then relaxed her stance a little. "Okay. I believe you. I heard he was in the Medical Wing but he was gone by the time by the time I got there. The nurse said he came in needing an antidote because he was hurling slugs all over the place. Apparently it was pretty gross."

Eyes narrowing slightly the Gryffindor tried to figure out what it was about the statement that bothered him. Then his mind started connecting the dots popping up in his mind, the answers he was coming up with making Albus's voice decidedly cold. "Slugs. He was throwing up slugs? That's what she said exactly."

She did not like the look in his eyes. "Al."

"Just answer the question, Dionne."

"Slugs. Why?"

"That's all I needed to know."

Marching off without another word Albus reined himself in for the rest of the class, barely hearing anything under discussion as he re-arranged things in his mind. His first thought was to go after Callendar but he rationally knew that he needed to talk to Scorpius first. And one thing bothered him, made him second guess what he was thinking.

Scorpius wouldn't make someone up-chuck slugs.

If push came to shove the Slytherin would lash out with something serious, not something like slug hurling. That was more something someone in his family would do. And wouldn't you know it, Lily would have walked through that corridor twice on her way to and from babysitting earlier. But Callendar would be an idiot to mess with his sister, and not just because fighting with her would get you bloodied every time. Picking on Scorpius would get him and Lily mad, but picking on Lily would get a lot of people pissed off. She was an oddball sometimes, but she was a very loveable oddball.

He could confront his sister, but if something had happened and Scorpius had asked her to keep her mouth shut she would have. And that was only logical, because otherwise she would have given him a heads up before now.

So he was left with the talking to Scorpius and hoping that the Slytherin would be straight with him.

)

Albus waited until dinner and homework was over, Phoenix in bed and sleeping, before he asked to speak with Scorpius in private. He could see it on the man's face that there was something being hidden from him. The other man was not good at hiding things from him. And there was something oddly gratifying about that fact, even though he was seriously pissed off that Scorpius was keeping things from him. This sort of thing was to be discussed as a family.

Treating the situation as family meetings had always been held in his household Albus motioned for Scorpius to take a seat and then took a seat across from him so that that they were facing each other.

"You or Lily had a run in with Vince today. Or both of you did. I'd like you to tell me about it. Please." Albus added on, since he didn't want to lose his temper until he knew he had a really good reason to. Which he probably did, but he didn't know that for sure.

"Can I ask first what makes you think something happened?" Scorpius saw from the man's face that that wasn't a question the Gryffindor was going to answer. "It was nothing. I mean that. He was waiting for me when I came back from class to take over for Lily. He and I talked, he was mad that you guys weren't friends anymore, and Lily came out with Phoenix. The baby sensed we weren't having a friendly conversation and I couldn't see him behind Callendar, but I heard him. I knew from the sounds he made that he was upset and I overreacted and shoved Callendar out of the way so that I could get to Phoenix. It pissed him off and when he rounded on me…Lily hit him with a curse that just made him…throw up slugs."

Crossing his arms in front of him Albus considered the new details. Scorpius wasn't the type to overreact, his gut said that he must have thought that shoving was the only way Vince was going to let him get past him. And he doubted that the two had been having a minor disagreement. But if Lily had been there then he knew his sister well enough to know she'd have told him if Vince had stepped over the line.

At least while she was in hearing distance.

"Do I need to talk to him?"

Scorpius shook his head. "No. Please."

"And the way you welcomed me home, that was because of what happened, right?"

Blinking at the man's tone of voice Scorpius suddenly realized that not only could he be in trouble for not telling Albus sooner about the incident between him and Callendar, but for trying to hide it by snogging the man earlier. In the Gryffindor's shoes…he'd be pissed as hell and hurt.

And it was not wanting the other man to ever think his feelings weren't real that had Scorpius getting to his feet, walking the short distance, and then bracing his hands on either side of the Gryffindor's head Scorpius leaned forward to press his lips against Albus in the softest of kisses.

Then pulling back the Slytherin pressed his forehead against the Gryffindor's, forcing the words out without stammering too hard. "Yes, but I wanted to do it. On my word. I…I love when you snog me."

Reaching up to cradle the other man's face between his hands Albus smiled. "Love it huh?"

He shyly nodded back.


	32. Lapping Up The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Lapping Up The Bond

Kissing the Slytherin to let him now that he believed him Albus smiled against the other man's lips, savoring the blonde's confession as much as the other man's mouth. And as it seemed to be the case with them the snogging quickly got hotter the longer their lips moved against each other's, so that very soon tongues were involved. His more than Scorpius's, though the way the Slytherin was trying to shyly imitate him was turning him on like nobody's business. Which was why he kept one hand on the blonde's neck to keep the other man where he wanted him while he slid the other to rest against the small of the smaller man's back, urging him forward so that with a surprised sound Scorpius ended up in his lap.

Blushing bright red Scorpius started to pull away but Albus's hands came back up to frame his face, holding him there as he turned the kisses back to slow and sweet, gentling him so that in spite of himself Scorpius found himself relaxing a little as he lost himself in the low, burning heat they generated.

In the back of his mind Albus's conscience reminded him that he'd said they were going to take things eighteenth century slow, but the devil on his shoulder pointed out that people in that time period had to have been having sex too or there wouldn't have been generations after them. And it wasn't like that was how the night was going to end, he pointed out even as he fought himself to keep his hands on the man's cheek as opposed to more interesting naked skin. Because even though he was becoming more and more curious about…well what would happen if their relationship were to develop to that level, well…neither of them was prepared to take that sort of step, even if they were both interested, which he didn't know if Scorpius even was.

Okay, scratch that, Scorpius was a guy after all. Albus didn't know any guy his age who wasn't interested in sex.

Drawing back his head Albus was pleased when the Slytherin made a small sound of protest, the Gryffindor tilting his head to the side to place one last kiss on the other man's pale throat before once again lifting his head to meet Scorpius's gaze. "I think this is how we should end all family meetings. What do you think?"

Blushing, and becoming very aware of the fact that he was currently sitting on Albus's lap, Scorpius instinctively squirmed, his eyes getting wider and wider as he instinctively looked down, having definitely felt…oh…OH. Too shocked to even blush more Scorpius slowly looked up to meet the Gryffindor's gaze, words beyond him.

Albus couldn't help but make a small sound of amusement. "Hey, I'm not the only one."

Making a sound perilously close to a squeak Scorpius tipped backwards in his haste to get off the Gryffindor's lap, hitting the floor with a dull thud. Ignoring Albus's concern the Slytherin just sat there and slapped his hand over his eyes, praying that a hole would open up and swallow him whole.

Since the other man was apparently all right Albus allowed himself a small smile as he reached down and grasping the other man's hand with both hands, pulling the reluctant Slytherin to his feet.

He wasn't really that surprised when Scorpius parted his fingers just long enough to glare at him.

Damn but he really was adorable.

"Okay, Mr. Graceful, time for bed."

The look that came over the blonde's face had Albus rethinking his earlier thought.

Scorpius was really the most adorable Slytherin ever born, hands down.

)

Head whipping around at the sound of loud cursing coming from Phoenix's room the next day Scorpius scowled at the Gryffindor's use of profanity and marched to stand in the room's doorway, opening his mouth to sternly remind Albus that they did NOT use that kind of language in their son's presence EVER. But those words died in his throat as he caught sight of the reason the other man had forgotten to watch his mouth.

"Well damn." The Slytherin muttered as he walked in to stand beside Albus as they watched their son jump up and down in his crib, looking up at them with a huge grin on his face as he showed off just how much stronger his legs were now. "How much did he age?"

Rubbing the back of his neck Albus grimaced as he tried to compare his son to other babies he'd known over the years. "I'm guessing he's a couple months over a year old now. I have a feeling as soon as we take him out of there he's going to be off and running." The Gryffindor turned his head to meet Scorpius's gaze. "You know our mums are going to blame us for this, for him getting bigger again so soon."

They would, Scorpius silently agreed with a slight grimace. "We'll tell them it was my fault."

"It wasn't your fault." Slinging an arm over the blonde's shoulder Albus turned his attention back to their obviously eager to get out of bed son. "It was Vince's-Callendar's fault."

"You don't have to call him by his last name."

"I think I do." Removing his arm the Gryffindor moved in and lifted Phoenix out of his crib, holding him out for inspection. "We're going to have to get the older clothes out of storage, I have a feeling that a lot of what we have for him in the drawers isn't going to fit nearly as well as it would have yesterday. Especially in the leg area. He's going to be a long one."

Scorpius studied and nodded his head in agreement of the Gryffindor assessment. "I'll get one of the boxes out. Thank goodness we brought clothes that would fit him up until three, just in case. When I come back here after breakfast I'll see what still fits and pack up the rest so that there isn't too much clutter in here." The space wasn't that big to begin with after all.

"Sure you don't want me to get-nevermind." Lips twitching over the look the Slytherin had sent him over his shoulder Albus wisely didn't finish his offer to get the box down for the other man. Instead he put Phoenix down, not the least surprised when the baby seemed to have no problem staying on his feet once he let go. In fact, after giving him a big smile, Phoenix turned and headed after Scorpius in a fast little walk that might not have been terribly graceful, but got him to where he wanted to go.

"He's right behind you." Albus called over, even as Phoenix wrapped his arms around Scorpius's leg, nuzzling his chubby cheek against the Slytherin's pajama bottoms.

"So I can feel. And you're going to have to come get him or I'm going to be stuck holding this box for longer than I want to."

Jogging over to do just that Albus detached the baby and then lifted him high, treating him like a toy airplane while Scorpius set the box down and started sorting through it to find something appropriate for the baby to wear for the day. Once found Scorpius called over for the Gryffindor to put Phoenix down so that they could get him dressed, which was probably going to take longer than normal from the way their son was squirming to keep moving.

And he was right, it did indeed take a lot longer to get the baby dressed than normal, so that the boys barely had time to get dressed themselves before they had to head out, Scorpius grabbing the Gryffindor's book bag at the last minute for him.

Of course the eagle eyed girls noticed right away that Phoenix had grown since last they'd seen him and they both gave the two harried parents dark looks. Wisely they distracted them with the fact that Phoenix had gotten the hang of walking during the night and therefore didn't want to be carried but wanted to walk like everyone else.

This of course presented a problem since Phoenix 's stride wasn't on par with any of theirs, so they took turns carrying him, letting him down every once in a while when he got too squirmy for them to hold without fear of dropping him. Every time they picked him up after letting him walk a little Phoenix gave them the most disgruntled look, which was so adorable they couldn't help but grin like idiots at him. So just to make him feel better Albus took one hand and Lily the other when they reached the Great Hall, some of the last to arrive as they walked Phoenix over to the Gryffindor table as opposed to carrying him, Scorpius and Gabrielle watching the whole time before making their way to their seats at the other table.

That Phoenix was walking was the main topic of conversation in the Great Hall for the first half of breakfast.

)

It was right around the middle of breakfast that Phoenix started to get antsy in his seat, not wanting to be there a second longer. And since his dark parent was busy talking to music guy, and funny one was talking to someone else, Phoenix decided he was just going to have to get out of his chair himself. This proved to be a lot harder than he'd thought, and finally he was reduced to whacking his parent's arm to get his attention. Giving said parent the sunniest of smiles when he looked down at him Phoenix held out his arms.

Albus tried to ignore and then gave up, retrieving his son from the chair to settle the boy on his knee. "Scorpius is right, I'm so going to be the one responsible if you turn into a spoiled brat, Buddy. You're sentencing me to a lifetime of 'I told you sos' from him, you know that don't you?" Albus asked his son, lips twitching and curving into a smile at the sweet, innocent expression Phoenix was wearing. "Right."

"A lifetime of 'I told you sos?" Davey repeated from the other side of the table, waving back at the little boy who was obviously looking to charm his way back into everyone's good graces.

"Okay, he might not say it that much, but you can bet that every time Phoenix here gets into serious trouble for being spoiled when he's older Scorpius will cross his arms and give me that look that says this is all my fault and not his. Isn't that right, Phoenix?" Albus looked down and wiggled his eyebrows at the boy. "He'll give us both looks until we have to agree that everything is all our faults, yes we will. He has the power."

Like he knew exactly what Albus was saying Phoenix nodded decisively.

"Dude, you won't have to live with him for more than a decade, a lot less if the kid here keeps growing the way he is." Davey pointed out, using his fork for emphasis. "I mean once he can feed off the love and happiness of others you and Gh-Scorpius won't have to be around him all the time and live together. Not to mention that once he's seventeen he'll be an adult and won't want to live with his parents like he's a kid. And his seventeen is going to come a lot sooner than most."

"One never stops being a parent." Was Albus's response, the phrase one his Gran was fond of using whenever she was meddling in the lives of her children and grandchildren. But really, Davey did have a point. A number of points actually. Points he didn't want to think about, thank you very much.

Recognizing the phrase Lily snorted and rolled her eyes.

Still not as free as he wanted to be Phoenix grasped his dark parent's robe sleeve and tugged on it, pointing in the direction of his light parent with his other hand.

Following the hand's direction to see who Phoenix was motioning for, no surprise, Albus smiled at Scorpius and then turned his direction back to his squirming more by the minute son. "You'll be with him shortly, kiddo. He's got first watch today, remember?"

Phoenix blew spit bubbles to show how he felt about that idea.

"Yeah, you definitely take after my side of the family." Albus acknowledged with a laugh. "I can't imagine the Malfoys were big on making spit bubbles to show their dissatisfaction with not getting their way."

"Even Malfoys were whiney babies at one time too, Al." Rosie pointed out from Davey's left side, having been listening to the conversation as well. "In fact, history has shown that the last two before Scorpius were whiney babies longer than most."

"Scorpius isn't."

The firmness of Albus's statement surprised those within hearing distance, but wisely they opted not to comment. And truth be told, now that they were actually being forced to get to know Scorpius Malfoy he wasn't such a bad egg at all. In fact…they were all pretty sure Lucius Malfoy probably considered his only grandson to be a complete failure as a Slytherin bad ass, which was A-okay with them.

They were actually starting to think Scorpius was just a little cute.

On the other side of the room Scorpius felt a shiver go up his spine, though he had no idea why. It was that someone walking over your grave feeling, which in his case really didn't make any sense since he'd be interned in his family crypt as opposed to being buried in the ground. Or at least that was what traditionally happened to member of his family. And that didn't matter since it was more important that he turn his attention to figuring out why he'd felt the shiver in the first place. It wasn't Callendar, that man had a special kind of shiver all his own. And it hadn't felt particularly threatening, just…weird.

"What's wrong?"

Scorpius looked over at Gabrielle, shaking his head. "It's nothing."

"Right. And your son doesn't currently have ants in his pants." Was her dry response.

"He doesn't have ants in his pants." Scorpius countered, hoping to distract her. "He's just an active kid who's being made to stay still against his will. And being spoiled by Albus who should have made him stay in his chair." The Slytherin muttered as an afterthought.

"Aren't you wearing your smarty pants today. And you would have taken him out of the chair too, Scorpius. He would have guilted you into it with those big green eyes of his and you know it."

Albus's eyes, Scorpius thought as he went a little mushy. Yeah, she probably had a point there.

Their son was doomed to be spoiled.

)

In what he considered a brilliant idea Albus decided to wait until the students were all in their classes or other rooms and then unleash his son in the corridors to let the baby walk/run to his little heart's content. If the powers that be were kind Phoenix would wear himself out before the two hours was over and they'd have a worn out, possibly sleeping baby on their hands. Because as much as they loved their son he was a lot easier to love when he wasn't squirming and trying to get away from them, Albus thought with a grin as he kept up behind his son as Phoenix explored the castle, keeping close enough to catch the baby if he were to trip and fall.

Not to mention there were things and people in the hallways he'd really rather the baby not be alone with.

One of those people soon came into view, his loyal cat trotting at the old man's side. Now that Filch needed a cane to walk the man was putting that to use, which would have been a very bad thing if the man's eyesight weren't going and the students weren't so quick on their feet. Like most of his relatives he avoided the man like a plague since in the cranky caretaker's mind anyone who had Weasley blood in them needed caning often, whether they'd done anything or not.

Since there were no connecting hallways nearby they'd have to go past the man and his cat, Albus deciding that it would probably be for the best if he was carrying Phoenix when that happened. He didn't think Filch would stoop so low as to hurt a baby, but who knew what that cat of his would do.

Looking down at the still baby Albus saw that the baby was staring in fascination at the cat, probably thinking of when his parents had had tails and ears like that. And then the now laughing in delight baby started doing his weird version of running, arms out stretched as he headed for the old man and cat, the cat surprising both humans by breaking away and running at Phoenix like an arrow let loose from its bow.

Albus couldn't have said why, but the tune Davey always liked to hum when he made his best friend go running with him suddenly popped into his head. Though why he should be thinking of 'Chariots of Fire' was beyond him as he shook his head over the whole thing.

And he really needed to catch up.

The cat got to Phoenix first, the baby somehow knowing to drop to his butt just as the cat reached him so that he wouldn't be toppled over. And so, while the cat snuggled into the happy baby's arms, Phoenix thankfully remembering how to pet a cat properly, the two older men watched over the pair with a mixture of surprise, bemusement, and uncertainty, of just what they were supposed to say or do now.

Looking over to meet Filch's gaze ruefully Albus shrugged his shoulders. "He…uh…really likes to play with animals."

"Then he should fit into your family well, shouldn't he?"

Always nice talking to you, Filch, Albus thought in his head as he stooped down to ruffle his son's hair. Ever the pleasure.


	33. Bonding Over Family

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Dedicated to RoseBelikov'at' for being my 1000th reviewer! Thanks!

Bonding Over Family

Later on in the week Scorpius was in the process of changing his shirt, Phoenix had caused him to spill ink all over his former one, when he heard a loud thud and the unmistakable sound of glass breaking. Head jerking at the sound the Slytherin immediately raced towards it, finding Phoenix in front of Al's bedside table, sitting on his butt as he leaned forward to grasp something. Snatching the boy up before the baby could touch the glass shards now littering the floor Scorpius shifted the boy onto his hip and then turned his attention to the latest mess his son had apparently made.

From the looks of things Phoenix had been yanking at the handle of the dresser drawer and had pulled hard enough that the picture frame on top had fallen off and hit the floor. Luckily the boy had let go of the handle and fallen backward, otherwise the frame would have hit him on the way down.

Shaking his head with a deep, heartfelt sigh of relief Scorpius set Phoenix down on Albus's bed and then withdrew his wand, quickly repairing the picture frame so that the glass went whizzing back into place. It was one of the Gryffindor with his family, Scorpius noted as he looked it over to make sure he hadn't overlooked any damage to it. Looking over at Phoenix, who was watching him with interest, the Slytherin worked up a stern look for the boy. "You need to be careful with things, Phoenix. This is a picture of your family, you know."

Obviously Phoenix didn't know since he just smiled, so Scorpius moved to sit on the bed with his back against the headboard, feeling slightly wicked about it since it was Albus's and not his own. Which was so juvenile and sad, but there you go, he thought with an expressive rolling of eyes.

Drawing his son onto his lap Scorpius held the picture up in front of them so that the baby could see the people waving from the picture frame at them. "This is some of your family." The Slytherin told his son, deliberately using childish terms since they'd be easier for Phoenix to use. "There's your other father, and that's his mummy there. She's your grandmother, you know. And that's his da, who's your grandfather. And that's your Uncle James and that's your Aunt Lily who you know very well by now."

Reaching out Phoenix gently patted the glass, smiling at the people waving at him, waving back with his other hand.

"That's right, that's your family." And thinking of the other people that made up their family Scorpius got off the bed with Phoenix, carefully setting the frame back down on Albus's dresser before hunting up a picture he had of his own parents, explaining to the baby how they were related to the both of them.

Of course Phoenix was far too young to understand who was who, much less how they were related to him, but Scorpius figured there was no harm in encouraging the baby to recognize the people who made up his family already. He'd ask Albus if he had more pictures stored elsewhere, since Phoenix had a really big family on that side and the sooner he started learning all their names the better.

)

As had become their pattern Scorpius set out early to meet Albus, allowing Phoenix to run/waddle in front of him most of the way as a method of letting the boy wear himself right out. They wouldn't be even a quarter of the way before Phoenix would decide he wanted to be carried anyway, which meant the baby didn't squirm or fuss as much as he did now that he was moving on two legs instead of four. Of course they had to watch him like a hawk when the baby wasn't in their arms since there were far too many dangerous things to be found in the school's hallways. The school had not been designed for housing babies or toddlers after all.

Especially for one who'd apparently inherited his curiosity genes from Albus.

So Scorpius alternated between carrying and shepherding their son through Hogwarts on their way to meet Albus since they were taking Phoenix outside for some fresh air. The leaves were changing beautifully and they figured they might as well take him out while the weather was still warm enough that they didn't have to worry about him getting sick.

Scorpius kept a firm grip on his son's hand since Phoenix had taken to running over to people he knew to wave at them and get hugs. Phoenix was really into hugs recently but had yet to grasp that given how much taller everyone was in comparison to him he shouldn't go running into crowds since it was quite easy for him to get lost in the bodies or tripped over.

But as soon as Phoenix saw Albus coming towards them there was no stopping him, the boy giving Scorpius big, pleading, Potter eyes as he tugged to get his hand free, his other stretched out towards the grinning Gryffindor.

From where he was Albus laughed, not the least surprised when Scorpius let go of the boy's hand so that his son could run over to him, the ability still new enough that Phoenix seized any chance to show off to everyone just how fast he was getting. Thankfully students were getting used to having the baby in their midst and for the most part they parted like a wave so that the youngest resident of Hogwarts would have a straight path to run to his father, the girls all sighing over how adorable he was.

Running straight into his dark parent's arms Phoenix laughed as he was lifted into the air and then brought back down for a warm bear hug, which was his favorite kind. Smiling brightly as he settled into the strong arms around him Phoenix reached out and patted the man's cheek. "Mummy."

Albus blinked and stared down at Phoenix questioningly, sure he must have heard wrong. "What did you say, Buddy?"

"Mummy."

While those closet to them began to muffle smiles and chuckles Albus shook his head at his son, his face mock stern. "No, Phoenix, I'm not your mummy. I'm your da. Scorpius is your mummy, we've discussed this, remember?"

"Have you now?" Scorpius stated as he came to a stop in front of his two boys, taking in Albus's guilty expression without surprise. He'd figured as much. "Well apparently Phoenix disagrees."

Eyes narrowing suspiciously Albus studied Scorpius, remembering that despite all the evidence to the contrary Scorpius actually was a Malfoy and Slytherin. "Have you been training him to call me mummy when I'm not around?"

Scorpius just barely managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes at the question. "No. Unlike you I thought it wise to simply teach him to call us two different versions of father when the time came. But you seem to have convinced him that he should call one of us mother and he's chosen you for the role. You are the one who hatched him after all." The Slytherin couldn't help but add.

"Guys hatch eggs too." Albus objected, cheeks flushing as he looked over at Rosie pleadingly. "Right? Guys can do that too?"

Lips twitching Rosie nodded her head, fighting back the urge to call her cousin 'Mummy'. "In the bird kingdom, anyway. And you do like to fly, so I guess that makes sense in a way...Al. Though you're the oddest looking rhea or emperor penguin I've ever seen."

"Actually, Al, you're rather like a male seahorse." Hugo added, trying to make his cousin feel a little bit better about the situation. "In that case the male seahorse carries the eggs around in a sort of pouch on its chest until they hatch."

"Can you call Al 'Seahorse', Phoenix?" Davey asked the baby in mock seriousness, winking at the baby from over Albus's shoulder.

Phoenix frowned at them, annoyed that they weren't getting him as he pointed at his dark parent insistently. "MUMMY."

"Our son has spoken." Was Scorpius's just a little smug statement, having no intention of correcting Phoenix.

Of course Albus had to try to convince Phoenix for the rest of the day to call him da instead of mummy, but the baby just wasn't going for it. It seemed that while Phoenix had indeed inherited his curiosity genes from the Weasley side of his family the boy had gotten his stubbornness genes from the Malfoy side and he refused to be budged and only yelled 'Mummy' louder the more Albus tried to correct him. And faced with that Albus had to accept that at least until his son got to be a little older he was going to be called 'Mummy' by the boy as well as all his friends and relatives who wouldn't be able to stop themselves from teasing him.

Which was why Albus' new plan was to convince his son to start calling Scorpius 'Mama' so that he wouldn't be alone in the mother category.

So far no luck.

Wisely Scorpius opted not to rub that in the Gryffindor's face, or point out that Albus deserved to be the one titled mother after spending so much time gleefully trying to convince their son to label the Slytherin as mother.

And so the Slytherin just smiled a little while sitting back to enjoy the show, which of course said all that and more without him having to say so much as a word.

)

Thinking to punish the Slytherin a little for enjoying his situation, as well as being genuinely curious about the blonde he still didn't know as nearly as well as he wanted to, Albus again waited until Phoenix was safely asleep in his crib that night before approaching Scorpius, who had just gotten back from his shower and was looking so very warm and inviting as he closed the bathroom door behind him.

"He asleep?" Scorpius asked as he turned to look in Albus's direction, his heart skipping a beat at the way the other man was watching him. There was just something about the man's gaze that had the blood rapidly leaving his head, which was good because then he wasn't blushing but bad because of where said blood was ending up.

Huh, there was still enough blood around for him to blush a little, Scorpius thought absently as he did so, looking a little away in the hopes that Albus wouldn't notice.

But of course he did, and Albus couldn't help but grin downright rakishly in response as he answered, reaching out to teasingly straight the collar of the Slytherin's pajama top. "He is indeed. The letting him run around in the halls really works." And thank Merlin, especially since snogging the Slytherin was something he intended to make a habit of.

Nodding his head in agreement Scorpius headed towards their bedroom, intimately aware of the fact that Albus was right behind him, making his heart beat like crazy. Of course it was perfectly innocent, they shared the room after all, but after that look Scorpius couldn't quite seem to stop himself from hurrying just a little faster than normal towards his own side of the room, thinking some space would be a good idea.

And nearly had heart failure when the Gryffindor kept following him.

He really was so damn friggin adorable, Albus thought fondly, unable to believe how one's opinion of someone could be so far off as his impression of Scorpius had once been. It was certainly yet another reason to be glad that Phoenix had come into their life, even if the adorable little brat was determined to call him mummy. His son and Scorpius were definitely worth being the butt of the coming mother jokes his friends were probably already formulating.

The Gryffindor waited patiently until the Slytherin was in his bed before coming in to take a seat beside Scorpius, who automatically shifted over to make room for him. "Got a few minutes, or too tired?" He asked sweetly.

Well honed self preservation skills quivering Scorpius slid into Malfoy mode without even consciously thinking about it. His mind just instinctively knew that he needed all his strength and poise as he nodded at the Gryffindor in his most arrogant, aristocratic way. "What did you want to talk about?"

Gone was the adorable version, present was the lord of the manor version of Scorpius, who was certainly not cute…but was kinda, just a little…sexy now that he thought about it, which he of course was since they were sitting on a bed together. And wasn't that just interesting, Albus decided, especially given what he wanted them to talk about.

Questions first, the sexy stuff later, maybe, he decided. If they were lucky. He wasn't a hundred percent sure how the other man was going to react to his questions now that he was actually faced with asking them. But if they were going to date he wanted to get a couple things straight so that there wasn't any major misunderstandings later that would come back to bite them in the ass. "Well I have a couple questions for you. You don't have to answer them if you don't want to though. And I don't mean to be a jerk by asking, FYI."

Well that definitely didn't sound good. "What do you want to know?"

Pushing aside the fact that they were sitting side by side on a bed as best he could, he was still a teenage guy after all, Albus's face went serious just in case he was poking at a sore spot. "You're gay, aren't you? I'm not the first guy you've crushed on, the way you're mine, right?"

Stiffening at the question Scorpius answered it none the less, not about to lie about it. He never had, he just hadn't had anyone outside his family or Gabrielle care enough about his sexual orientation to seriously ask about it.

"Yes, I'm gay." He wasn't answering the other part of the question though. The Gryffindor already had the upper hand in their relationship as it was. And even though every instinct said he could trust Albus, too many years of not being able to trust others was too finely ingrained in him to trust his softest feelings to someone who was only now starting to like him even just as a person.

Even if those feelings were for the person in question.

"Thought so." And to make sure Scorpius knew that was okay with him Albus reached up and gently stroked the Slytherin's hair back, knowing the blonde liked it. "You seemed to be dealing with the whole attraction thing better than I was."

"More like I'm better at hiding it." He'd had years of experience after all.

"Except for the blushing."

Fighting back the urge to do precisely that Scorpius nodded his head slightly. "Except for that."

"Was it weird for you, when you realized you were interested in guys instead of girls?" Albus asked, his curiosity getting the best of him as he dropped his hand away. "I mean everyone gets raised pretty much thinking they're supposed to be interested in the opposite sex, so it's got to be weird to realize you aren't like that."

Scorpius blinked in surprise at the question. His father tried to pretend it wasn't the case while his mother, maternal grandparents and Gabrielle had been quietly supportive without wanting to know the details. His paternal parents preferred to think he was just going through a phase and he'd given up trying to tell them otherwise. In truth he'd always been a little worried about what would happen when Lucius Malfoy had to accept that the Malfoy line would die with him, but now that Phoenix was around maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He could hope anyways.

And it felt strangely…releasing to have the opportunity to discuss it, Scorpius realized, like it was something he could talk about openly without worrying too much about it. Still embarrassing, but it was Albus he was talking to so that was only natural.

"It wasn't really weird." He began in a soft voice, looking down at his lap as he spoke. "I've always been different, felt different, so the fact that I wasn't noticing girls the way the other guys did didn't really strike me as that odd. And when I started noticing the guys, the way the others noticed the girls…well I figured I could never get a date with anyone but Gabrielle…so what did it matter. Though I did, sometimes, think it would be better if I were straight…for her sake."

Leaning forward Albus kissed the side of Scorpius's head. "You got a date with me." He pointed out, wondering which of their upperclassmen had caught the Slytherin's attention back in the day.

"Only because we have a son together."

"Because you're you." Albus corrected firmly as he tipped Scorpius's face up so that he could kiss the other man, hand moving to hold the Slytherin's jaw in place as he made it clear that he wasn't at all unhappy at the twist his fate had taken with the introduction of the other man and Phoenix.

When the kiss ended Scorpius stared into Albus's eyes, unable to stop himself from questioning that fact. "You…you never noticed me before Phoenix."

"True. But I still asked you out to dinner that time because I wanted to go out with you. Being parents together didn't obligate me to do that, Scorpius."

Scorpius smiled at that, not making a sound of protest when the Gryffindor moved in to steal another kiss.


	34. Admiring the Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Admiring the Bond

He liked how Scorpius felt in his arms. The way the other man melted into his arms when he was holding him as he was now. Even more he liked the taste of the Slytherin's mouth, the sweet welcome of it as it pressed up against his. He could go on kissing the man for a long, long time, Albus thought to himself, but unfortunately air was required in order to continue existing. Drawing back he smiled, his grin widening at the look of dazed, warm pleasure on Scorpius's face. "I love when you make that face."

Scorpius blinked as he tried to reengage his brain enough to understand Albus's murmured words. "You love my face?" That didn't sound right. He wasn't good looking.

That wasn't exactly what he'd said, but now that he thought about it. "Yeah, I do."

The look on the Slytherin's face said plainly he couldn't see why that would be.

Amused by that, though he'd have to change it, Albus reached out to stroke back down the hair he'd mushed earlier. "So question, even though Phoenix is calling me mummy now, I can still call you wife, right?"

Of the various nicknames assigned to him over the years 'Wife' certainly wasn't the worst, and he knew that Albus meant it affectionately and not in a mocking sort of way which mattered most. It was actually sort of cute sometimes. "I'd prefer you only call me that in private or among your family and close friends. So it's okay as long…as you don't forget I'm a guy." Because it was suddenly occurring to him that Albus could try to deal with their present attraction by casting him in the female role. That wasn't going to happen, couldn't happen. Nothing could be built on that because he was a male and was staying one.

"Trust me, I won't forget." Especially since the closer they got physically the more apparent it was going to be to the both of them that they were guys, Albus thought wryly.

"Good." And moving closer Scorpius pressed his lips against Albus's again in a brief kiss.

Drawing back Albus gave Scorpius a thoughtful look. "So am I your type?"

It took a moment for him to understand what he was being asked, and he had to admit that he really wished the Gryffindor hadn't asked him that. But since he wasn't willing to admit just yet how he felt about the other man Scorpius decided that this was the least he could own up to. "Yes, you're my type."

"Hmmmm…really." Interest gleamed in Albus's eyes and then he narrowed them thoughtfully as his mind started making connections as he thought back through their interactions and lack thereof before Phoenix had come into their lives. And now that he was thinking about it in terms of the idea that Scorpius might be attracted to him…. "Is that why you always stayed away from me before? Leave or duck out of hallways when you'd see me coming. Did you have a crush on me before all this?"

Scorpius's face said it all.

"You did! You did have a crush on me before." And thinking about those first few days together a lot of things suddenly made a lot more sense. "That's why you were freaked out about staying in my room, and me changing in front of you. Why you blushed so much and got so flustered…why didn't you tell me?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

"What? I wouldn't have beaten you up or anything." Insult crossed Albus's face at the thought that Scorpius would think he'd have been an ass about it had he known.

As always, someone up there had a serious hate on for Malfoys, Scorpius thought as he tried to figure out how to reassure the other man that he didn't think he was a jerk while not revealing any more about his feelings than was completely necessary. "I didn't think you'd beat me up. Not like it, but I didn't think you'd come after me if you knew. You can't tell me you told every person you've every crushed on how you felt. Or if you have…well you're a hell of a lot braver than us mere mortals."

Okay, he'd had a couple crushes he'd never admitted to, Albus silently acknowledged, feeling better now that he knew that it had just been the blonde's shyness that had kept the Slytherin from admitting to his crush. And since Scorpius hadn't told him for such a cute reason and was obviously embarrassed over things Albus decided to leave the investigation as to how long Scorpius had had a crush on him for later.

They had plenty of time after all.

)

With a loud yawn Scorpius opened his eyes to mere slits the next morning and reaching out whacked his alarm to shut it off. He hadn't been able to sleep well the night before, too aware of the man sleeping so close to him after their talk, and what he wanted to do more than anything was burrow under his covers and say to hell with going to classes. Okay, he'd like the burrowing more if Albus was snuggled up with him, but then sleeping would be the last thing on his mind, Scorpius groggily mused as he forced himself to throw off his nice, warm covers. Either way he had to get up for school and help look after Phoenix.

Stifling another yawn Scorpius glanced in the direction of Albus's bed, not surprised that the Gryffindor was nowhere in sight. Albus was as much a morning person as he wasn't. And Albus was so lucky he was damn gorgeous or that would be a horrible quality to have, the Slytherin decided as he got out of bed and started to undo his top's buttons, about to slide the material off his shoulders when he sensed that he had company.

Turning Scorpius's lips curved into a small smile at the sight of Albus in the doorway with Phoenix in his arms.

"Don't move."

Blinking in surprise when the Gryffindor set Phoenix on the floor and then dashed out of the room Scorpius remained still, too sleepy to even wonder why he wasn't allowed to move from his present spot. Instead he remained where he was while keeping an eye on Phoenix, who was trying to stick his footsie pajama covered foot into his mouth for some reason.

And then Albus was back and Scorpius's reflexes were too slow for him to bring up his hands in time to block his face when the Gryffindor snapped his picture. "Hey."

"I think I got it." Pleased, Albus grinned, thinking that the Slytherin would have to acknowledge his appeal when he saw the picture he'd just taken. Well that and he wanted a copy for himself, the Gryffindor admitted, his stomach feeling weird over the fact that he was actually finding another man sexy. But seriously, even if he were still completely straight Albus figured he would have thought the Slytherin looked damn hot with the open black top and drawstring bottoms hanging low on the blonde's hips. Add that to the tousled hair and half lidded gaze and Albus had to admit that maybe a quick cold shower was going to be in order for him before he got dressed for the day.

"Why'd you take my picture?" Scorpius grumbled, running a hand through his hair in an effort to tame it down a little.

"You'll see when I develop it." Was Albus's mischievous reply as he walked over and gave the other man a quick kiss. "Good morning."

Unable not to smile just a little Scorpius glanced down at the camera and then back at Albus. "It would be better if you didn't take pictures of me when my hair's a mess."

"I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, I'll let you get dressed while I get him dressed and then we'll switch, kay?" Somehow he doubted a cold shower would help him now.

"Sounds like a plan."

Once he was dressed for the day and his hair was perfectly tamed Scorpius headed into Phoenix's room and took over entertaining the baby while Albus got ready for the day.

And then it was time for them to head out for the day, both boys calling out good morning to the two girls waiting for them.

Albus gave Gabrielle an extra smile since he was pretty sure he had a handle on why she really didn't like him now. He'd realized it last night, after they'd turned in for the night, that if Scorpius had been crushing on him before then Gabrielle would have noticed. Scorpius was her most important person so of course she would have noticed and been hurt by that fact, which meant that it was going to take even longer than he'd expected to win her over. But at least he knew now that she had a legitimate reason for not liking him. He'd feel the same in her shoes.

Gabrielle wasn't sure what to make of that smile, but she decided to ignore it for the moment. "I'm going to be watching Phoenix for Lily today if it's all right with you two." She announced.

When they give her questioning looks Lily gave them rueful looks. "I have an assignment due this afternoon and I was going to finish it last night, I really was, but something came up and I never got around to it and…well I'll need to use my babysitting period to finish it and there's no way the kiddo will stand to be ignored for that long and it wouldn't be fair to him. Elle said she'd do it if it's okay with you guys, which I told her it would be."

It felt weird to have the girl call her by her nickname, only Scorpius did, but Gabrielle didn't correct Lily as she waited to see if Albus Potter would trust her being alone with Phoenix.

"It's fine with me." Albus stated, looking directly at Gabrielle. "I know he's fond of you."

Scorpius seconded that, glad that Gabrielle and Lily were getting along so well. His best friend needed more friends than just him and Lily was a lovely, if a little odd person.

"Then it's settled." Lily announced with a grin. "Now let's go eat, I'm starving!"

)

Gabrielle sat on the floor facing Phoenix, who bounced on his butt and watched her with just as much interest. "Okay, so I've never once in my entire life babysat anyone, much less a baby before." Gabrielle began, propping her head up on her palm. "And I can't go by my own experiences being babysat because my brothers babysat me and their way of doing that was locking me in my room and opening the door only when it was time for dinner, which was always sandwiches. But don't worry, I know that's not normal and I won't do that to you. I try always to avoid following their example, it's worked for me well over the years. So I'm not going to stick you in your crib, but you're going to have to go easy on me since I'm a beginner."

Phoenix cocked his head to the side with a considering look on his little face.

"And if I screw this up you are to blame it all on your Aunt Lily, who talked me into taking babysitting duty even after I told her that I'd never done this before. She's dangerous, your aunt. I need to be more cautious around her or who knows what she'll have me agreeing to next."

Clapping his hands the baby just smiled at her.

"Oh yeah, you're going to be as dangerous as she is, aren't you? Or even worse, come to think of it. But don't think you can use the big eyes technique on me, Kid. Because those are Potter eyes you've got and unlike Scorpius I do not melt before them. In fact, I'm not the least partial to Potter eyes so you'd better learn to work Scorpius's dandelion hair or you're never going to wrap me around your finger the way you do everyone else."

Laughing Phoenix crawled over and into her lap, snuggling up against her with a content sigh.

Looking down at him Gabrielle sighed and admitted, if only to herself, that maybe he already had her wrapped around his little, bitty finger. Picking him up out of her lap she gave him a hug and then getting up walked around to close all the doors before retaking her seat on the floor in the parlor, setting Phoenix before her on his feet. "So, as I recall you like to hide. How about some hide and seek?"

"Seek?" Phoenix repeated, his eyes lighting up. He knew that word.

"I seek, you hide." Gabrielle informed him, putting her hands over her eyes. "Go hide now." She instructed, smiling when she heard the sound of his feet stomping across the floor as he ran away.

As expected the baby hadn't lost his love of hiding in small, impossible to reach him spaces, so that Gabrielle had to strain and twist her body in weird ways to drag him out of his hiding places since apparently he wasn't familiar with the idea that once she found him he was supposed to come out.

And then he finally found his way to a hiding place where she couldn't reach him without literally moving the cabinet the baby was under.

Frowning, Gabrielle was bent over on her knees, idly tapping her fingers on the floor as she debated what to do as she stared at the little boy. She could use her wand to lift the cabinet up, but then how was she supposed to get him to move? She could set the cabinet elsewhere, but knowing Phoenix he'd just follow the cabinet. And she didn't want to use her wand to pull him towards her, what if he hurt his little head? Baby heads were delicate things. Scorpius would hate her forever if she hurt Phoenix even accidentally, and she'd never forgive herself anyway.

"Come on, Phoenix, come on out now." She said for what felt like the hundredth time. "Please come out and I'll…give you something." Unfortunately the baby couldn't be bribed with food.

Peals of baby laughter was Phoenix's reply.

"Your Weasley blood is so showing at the moment."

Shaking her head Gabrielle was about to get up and give the moving the cabinet thing a try when she sensed someone else in the room just as that someone spoke.

"You know, Gabrielle, I have to say, your rear end is absolutely-."

Twisting around Gabrielle had her wand pointed and her spell casted before the man could finish his sentence.

)

Coming into their room Albus and Scorpius both blinked in surprise at the sight of their son sitting in the middle of the parlor floor with a weasel in his lap. The boy was cuddling the creature like it was a stuffed animal, and it was looking at them almost pleadingly. Both looked over in the direction of Gabrielle, who had looked up from the book she was reading and smiled at them with an edge that had the two boys wondering if they had cause to worry.

Had the weasel wandered in on its own, Albus wondered as he walked over and knelt down in front of his son. It wouldn't be the first animal that had found Phoenix, wanting to play with him. But there was just something about the way the creature was looking at him that made him think he was missing something.

"Where did the weasel come from, Gabrielle?" Scorpius asked as he too studied the animal.

"It wandered in. Feel free to chuck it out the nearest window when he's done playing with it." Was her response as she closed her book and got to her feet.

Apparently she wasn't a weasel person. "Okay…thanks for watching him."

Nodding her head in Albus's direction Gabrielle returned their good byes and then headed out without a backward glance.

Still feeling that there was something off about the weasel Albus convinced Phoenix to turn the animal loose by offering the baby one of his quills, knowing how much the baby liked to rub the feather part against his cheek.

While Phoenix did that Albus set the weasel down, eyebrows rising when the weasel pointed to itself and then contorted its body in the shape of an…F?

"What is it doing?" Scorpius asked as they watched the creature stand perfectly straight while its arms curved forward almost like it was going to dive.

"I have a bad feeling he's trying to spell his name." Was Albus's answer as he lightly moved Scorpius away and then drawing his wand pointed it at the weasel. "Finite Incantatem."

And as the three boys watched the weasel grew and morphed into Fred Weasley.

"Out of idle curiosity, Malfoy, does your friend always take compliments so badly?" Fred asked in a conversational tone of voice, very glad that he was no longer a weasel. It wasn't good for a wizard to be a furry creature for too long after all, even though it had been amusing at first.

"She turned you into a weasel because you complimented her?" Albus wasn't surprised that Fred wasn't mad at her, Fred was weird that way after all, but still…turning the man into a weasel struck him as a bad way to respond to a compliment. Of course Fred's idea of a compliment….

"What exactly did you say to her?" Scorpius asked, interrupting Fred before he could respond to Albus's question.

"Well in truth she never let me finish it." And then Fred explained what he'd gotten out before she'd turned him into a weasel.

Shaking his head Scorpius winced. "It's because you mentioned her rear end. She's really sensitive about how big it is. You're lucky she didn't throw you out the window."

Fred considered this. "So I'm in the dog house again?"

"No…right now you're not even allowed on her property."

"Ah…damn."


	35. Bonding Through Snogging

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters end up in.

Bonding Through Snogging

Even after a week of groveling, heartfelt apologies and explanations, Gabrielle was still refusing to speak to Fred Weasley, much less forgive him for the perceived insulting of her ass. She just refused to believe that he'd meant to compliment her and had no intention of ever speaking to the former Gryffindor ever again unless it was to change him back into a weasel so that she could skin him and have his fur made into lining for some gloves.

Since Gabrielle was an animal lover Scorpius made it clear that she meant business, to threaten that and mean it.

And she had meant it.

For his part Albus wracked his brain trying to come up with some way to help his cousin out without much luck. Everything he'd come up with had been met with extreme distain and threats according to his cousin, making him very glad that he wasn't in Fred's shoes. She at least tolerated his existence in her world.

But that was about all she tolerated, Albus thought ruefully as he walked through the hallways with Phoenix's hand in his. Gabrielle had learned he was attempting to help sway her where Fred was concerned and he was now guilty by association. She was only speaking to him when she had to at the moment.

Looking down when his son yanked on his arm the Gryffindor followed the boy's line of vision, smiling automatically when he saw who Phoenix was pointing out. "Hey, Scorpius!" Smile widening when the Slytherin changed his direction Albus grinned as he let Phoenix's hand go so that the little boy could run over to meet his other parent. "Shouldn't you be in Potions right now?"

Ruffling the little boy's hair with his right hand Scorpius raised his bandaged left. "I had to go to the Medical Wing."

Good humor immediately vanishing Albus moved forward to get a look at the damage, which unfortunately he couldn't see thanks to the wrappings. "What did you do? It wasn't Vince, was it?"

Scorpius shook his head. "It was my fault. I accidentally spilled some of the potion I was working on onto my hand. It's not bad, I just have to keep it wrapped for the rest of the day to give the salve a chance to soak in and do its thing."

"Does it hurt?"

It did a little, but Scorpius shook his head again anyway. He didn't want Albus to worry.

Not believing the other man Albus leaned down and grasped Phoenix by his little waist, lifting the baby up so that the giggling boy was on level with Scorpius's hand. "Give your other mummy's hand a kiss all better, okay, Buddy? Just like we do when you fall down, remember?"

Phoenix cranked his neck back to look at his mummy questioningly. "Kiss?"

"Kiss." Albus confirmed.

"Ogay." Leaning forward Phoenix placed a smacking kiss on the bandaged hand before looking back up with a look that suggested he wanted confirmation that he'd done well.

"Very good, I bet his hand is loads better now." Albus assured their son, who smiled back at him in delight.

"Given how tuned in he is to our moods I don't think you can kid him about that." Scorpius pointed out dryly, though he lowered his head to place a kiss on his son's downy head in thanks for the adorable, if prompted gesture.

"Ah but one always feels better after a kiss from a loved one." Albus resorted with a grin, though now that he thought about it Phoenix had been more squirmy than usual about a half an hour ago. Guess he knew why, the Gryffindor thought as he set Phoenix back on his feet. Then, because he was a firm believer in following his own advice, Albus gently grasped the Slytherin's wrist and brought the injured hand up to his lips so that he could bestow a kiss as well.

Blushing bright red Scorpius tugged his hand, trying to get it free. "Someone could see you!"

Chuckling, Albus grinned, reaching out to ruffle the blonde's hair as he let go. "You worry too much."

)

Scorpius hung out with the two since he wasn't expected back in Potions, seeing Phoenix off into Lily's care before leaving the Gryffindors behind to head to his next class, Albus doing the same. His hand hurt a little, but he could flex his fingers which was the main thing. He could take notes, and to his surprise a couple people in his class offered to copy their notes for him so that he wouldn't hurt his hand more by using it. Their offers were appreciated, and it was nice to actually have classmates who were willing to help him.

Class went reasonable well, and heading out afterwards Scorpius was in a fairly decent mood, all things considering.

Or it was good until a hand suddenly shot out from nowhere and grabbing his arm swung him out of the hallway he was in and into another one which was empty except for one other person. The one who'd grabbed him and flung him into the space, letting him go in the process to hurl him further into the hallway.

Staying on his feet Scorpius watched as Callendar approached, seeing in the man's eyes that he was in serious trouble. Enough trouble that he fisted his hands at his sides.

Seeing this the Gryffindor laughed mockingly, obviously not the least worried. "You don't honestly think you could hurt me with those fists, do you? You Malfoys are barely dangerous with wands. I heard your father once got owned by a girl and cried like one too."

Actually Malfoys could be pretty lethal wand wise but yes, his father would probably get his ass kicked in a physical fight, even against a girl. But his father hadn't been the one to teach him to fight with his fists. Gabrielle had. And Gabrielle had learned how to fight from her brothers, which was one of the few good things the twins had ever done for her, even if they'd only done it because they hadn't liked the idea of a Goyle who fought like a girl. He knew how to fight dirty, but had never really applied the knowledge outside the rigorous training his best friend had put him through when he was younger. But if necessary he knew where to aim, Scorpius reminded himself.

Not that he was about to tell Callendar that.

"What do you want, Callendar?"

"You know you're smarter than your father. He fucked up everything he did, right, and relied on muscle to carry out his will because he was just bloody useless as anything other than a whiney brat. You're smarter than that." Callendar began in a calm tone of voice that was completely at odds with the predatory feel to his movements as he moved closer to the Slytherin. "You came here and played the victim, stoically taking all the abuse, the name calling, pretending to be something that you're not in order to convince everyone around you that you're not a threat to them. And for the most part they bought it hook, line, and sinker. They started calling you Ghost and pretty much forgot you existed, didn't they? Which was just the way you wanted it. Everyone becoming so nice and complacent that they never saw who Scorpius Malfoy truly is under his sheep's clothing like I did. Well…everyone but the Sorting Hat, right? He put you in your proper house where you belonged."

Scorpius didn't react to the insults to his father, there was no point. As for him pretending his whole school life to be someone he wasn't sounded ridiculous to him, but people did do that. Callendar was an excellent example of someone who wore his good Gryffindor mask well in public. But the man's mask slipped plenty, because you had to have those breaks or explode.

Instinct said he was going to be witnessing an explosion momentarily.

"I've already told you I won't hurt Albus. He's the father of my son, for Merlin's sake. For that reason alone I would never harm him."

Callendar's chuckle was harsh and dismissive. "Right, because members of your family never kill other members. Tell that to Albus's godbrother."

"Bellatrix Lestrange was insane." Scorpius's voice was as even as he could make it. "The Wizarding World is all related, it would be impossible to find a long standing wizarding family without a member who went bad. You're likely to find several, in fact. That's human nature."

Like he hadn't even heard the Slytherin Callendar continued to move forward with single minded focus. "I've been waiting and waiting for you to make your move, to show who you truly are because seriously, how long could you keep it up before you showed your true nature. And then this mess with Albus happened and I stood back and MARVELED at the scope of your little plan. All that watching and observing you did these past six years served you well, you knew just how to work everyone here, didn't you? You played them perfectly really as you seamlessly slid yourself into the Potter/Weasley circles like you actually belonged there. Using a Soul Egg to do it, forging that kind of unbreakable bond with Al was bloody brilliant. Well…almost unbreakable." The Gryffindor corrected himself with a grin. "Without the kid you'd be back on the sidelines again, wouldn't you?"

Ice cold clarity washed over Scorpius, causing the blonde to straighten as without thinking he dropped all his masks as well. And in their place was the face of a Malfoy/Black who sensed that someone he loved was being threatened.

It was the face of someone who was perfectly capable of shedding life's blood and enjoying it. It was not the face of someone you wanted to mess with.

"Ah, there you are." Triumph crossed Callendar's face, a horrible joy in having his opinions of the Slytherin confirmed to his way of thinking. Because looking into Scorpius Malfoy's face he FINALLY saw the predator under that soft, harmless exterior. The predator he'd always known HAD to be there.

It took a great deal for Scorpius not to draw his wand and impulsively eliminate any threat the Gryffindor might pose to Phoenix, but he restrained himself as he made himself think clearly. Callendar was usually just talk with everyone else, and for the man to harm someone Albus loved, an innocent, was something he couldn't see the other man doing. The Gryffindor watching him was capable of great cruelty, yes, but it took a kind of evil to harm a defenseless child and he didn't think Callendar had that in him.

But just in case… "Harm my son and they'll never find your body."

Reeling a little from the shock Callendar's face flushed with furious insult. "How dare you suggest I would ever harm a child! I'm not the monster here, you are!"

The complete honesty and insult on the Gryffindor's face had the tension in Scorpius's body easing automatically. Of course it would probably be a different story when Phoenix was no longer a 'child', but by then the baby's abilities would be pronounced enough that only someone truly evil could attempt to kill his son. And it would be only an attempt, because he and Albus would kill anyone who tried to end their son's life. That was a given.

Riding his fury Callendar took the steps necessary to get up in Scorpius's face, the Gryffindor looking like he wanted to strange the blonde with his bare hands. "You act so high and mighty, like you're the victim here. Running away from me like a scared little rabbit all the time, only showing any real emotion when it comes to your precious son. But that's a Malfoy for you because at the end of the day, you only care about people whose blood is similar to yours, and that's only if they think and do as you say. What if I were to hurt Albus, you wouldn't care one-."

Reaching out Scorpius had the Gryffindor's lapels in his white fists in a flash, yanking the other man close so that they were nose to nose. "Let me make it clear to you once and for all, you stupid, arrogant, bully." He hissed, his eyes swirling, dangerous storms. "Touch Phoenix, touch Albus, touch anyone I care about in anger and I will prove you right about just what you think I'm capable of. You just won't be conscious long enough to tell anyone that you told them so. Know it. Fear it."

"As if I could ever be afraid of you." Callendar snarled back, though there was something in those eyes, something that made him believe that the Slytherin believed, one hundred percent, what he was saying.

"My father was a screw up who could get taken down a girl." Scorpius all but purred as he threw the Gryffindor's words back at him, his own words dripping with venom. "And look at all the pain and misery he was capable of causing before he graduated from here. If I'm half as brilliant and dangerous as you seem to think I am…imagine the damage I could do if you pushed me too far."

And sure that his message was for once received and understood Scorpius let the Gryffindor go and marched forward, not carrying that his shoulder hit Callendar's, not even remotely worried that he was giving the other man his back and his wand wasn't drawn.

In that moment, to his mind, Callendar wasn't his hunter.

Callendar was potential prey.

)

Striding through the castle's hallways Scorpius couldn't remember feeling quite so…bad ass. It was a completely foreign feeling, and he imagined it would fade quickly into horror at what he'd done since he'd all but challenged Callendar to try for him. And the muffled voices in his head pointed that out, but were barely noticed thanks to the extreme testosterone and adrenaline rush he was moving under. He felt strong and powerful and…and manly. Like for once he could stand toe to toe with Albus and really believe, to the core of his being, that he was just as tough as the Gryffindor could be. Just as alpha.

That belief would probably wear off with the adrenaline and testosterone high, but he was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

I am a bad ass, I am a bad ass, Scorpius sang in his head, in some part of himself recognizing the humor in chanting that of all things in his head like a five year old. But what the hell, if you couldn't sing in your head then where could you?

And since the voices in his head were getting louder by the minute as to all the reasons why threatening Callendar back had been far from one of his better ideas Scorpius picked up the pace, since there was something he wanted to do before he reverted back to his normal self.

Turning into the hallway that led to the rooms he shared with the rest of his family Scorpius crashed into a familiar warm body, Albus's arms automatically coming up to wrap around his waist, supporting him.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Albus demanded to know, loosening his hold, though he kept the man in his arms. "I just got back and Lily said Phoenix had been really fussy about ten minutes ago. I was coming to look for you, in case you were the reason. Did you hurt your hand again?"

It was a testament to how completely his mind had been on other things that he'd completely forgotten about his injured left hand. He'd even fisted it a few times without even noticing the twinges that must have been felt in some corner of his mind. Starting to notice it now, the Slytherin noted, but Albus was in front of him, caring about him, and that focused him on what was important.

Lifting his hands Scorpius slid his fingers into the Gryffindor's hair, pulling the man's head down so that their lips were almost touching as he smiled at him. "I'm better than okay. Let me show you."

He'd kissed Albus a couple of times all on his own without something prompting him, he wasn't a complete coward, thank you very much. But he'd never done so with this amount of downright carnal, 'I want to screw your fucking brains out' kind of kiss designed to drive the person being snogged wild with passion too. Not remotely his usual style, so it was sloppier and not nearly as well executed as it would have been if the Gryffindor had been in charge, but the Slytherin got his point across.

Moaning his pleasure Albus shuddered at the unexpected assault upon his mouth, his arms tightening once again around the Slytherin's waist as he let the man have control, wanting to feel just how much Scorpius wanted him. Apparently, the blonde wanted him bad.

It went without saying that he was pleased.

And since it wasn't in his nature to completely give over the reins Albus contented himself with moving his hands under the back of other man's robes and shirt so that he could move his fingers over the Slytherin's bare back while he allowed Scorpius to do as he liked mouth wise. It was a good plan.

Both men were so absorbed in what they were doing and feeling that they didn't hear the polite 'ahems' being said in their direction, and their names being called went completely over their heads.

It took a finger being jammed into each of their shoulder blades to finally clue the two boys to the fact that they were no longer alone and someone wanted their attention.

Slowly raising their heads, turning them to look in the direction of the fingers, Albus raised an eyebrow at the person interrupting them while Scorpius took one look and went bright red, groaning low as he turned his head again so that he could bury it against the side of his man's neck.

"Hi, Rosie."

"Hi, Al." Lips twitching, Rosie couldn't help but think it was so cute how the Slytherin who'd been frenching her cousin's brains out was now hiding his face from her. "You know, I'm thinking that my father should have given you the 'not too friendly' speech on our first trip to Hogwarts, Cous."

"Wouldn't have done any good." Al assured her, wiggling his eyebrows as he kept a tight grip on Scorpius. "He's just too cute."

Looking at the Slytherin Rosie had to agree.

Boy were Louis and Domi going to be smug when they found out they'd been right about the two.


	36. Adorable Bonding

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters end up in.

Merry Christmas To You All!

Adorable Bonding

While Albus and Rose discussed how Louis and Dominique had apparently been telling everyone that they thought he and Albus would be hooking up before Christmas time, Scorpius did his best not to over blush to the point where he'd just melt into one big pile of glowing red goo. It was a girl move to keep hiding his face against the other man's neck, the Slytherin knew, but Albus was making it pretty clear that he wasn't going to loosen his grip until he was good and ready so leaving the situation wasn't an option yet. And while in some rational part of his brain Scorpius knew he should be really happy that apparently none of his Gryffindor's cousins hated the idea of them as a couple he wasn't quite ready to be grateful just yet. But it was good that the relatives were comfortable enough with the idea to start a betting pool as to whether or not Louis and Domi had been right and if so when the two would be announcing that they were dating.

Taking pity on the Slytherin Rose decided that she'd leave the two alone to discuss the fact that their budding relationship was in fact known to others. She had to go and spill the fact that the two were in fact a couple to all her school attending relatives anyway. "Since Scorpius isn't going to stop hiding until I'm gone shall I say I'll see you both at dinner?"

Grinning smugly Albus winked at her. "Sounds like a plan."

"See you later, Scorpius."

"Bye, Rose." Was the blonde's muffled, faintly mortified response.

Waving his cousin off Albus waited until his cousin was out of sight before informing his man that it was now safe for the Slytherin to show his face.

Scorpius considered and then shook his head. Nope, he wasn't ready to face this Gryffindor either.

His bad ass genes had gone back into hibernation big time.

Chuckling, Albus shook his head over the adorableness of his Slytherin before slowly moving forward, the blonde stepping in tandem so that he could herd the other man backwards down the hallway that led to their rooms. He was sorry he couldn't watch them moving, they must look like they were doing a very weird dance.

They were almost to their door when Scorpius's pride forced him to look up and meet Albus's gaze. "You don't mind…that she knows and is probably going to tell everyone?" It was occurring to him that maybe the other man was pretending to be okay with his cousin knowing, especially since he still remembered vividly Albus saying that he wanted to keep their relationship between the two of them.

The Gryffindor shrugged. "They were bound to figure it out sooner or later. We'll just have to deal with them sooner than I'd hoped. Sorry in advance for all their supposedly well meaning meddling."

"That's…that's why you didn't want them to know? Because they'll meddle?"

"Why else would I not want them to know? It's not like they'd have a problem with me dating a guy, and they all like you. They're going to tease us mercilessly." Albus added with a rueful, what you going to do look. "And I'll have to tell Davey, Magda and Frankie now or they'll be seriously pissed at me once they figure it out." Staring into the Slytherin's eyes the answer to his own question dawned on the Gryffindor. "You thought I didn't want anyone to know because I didn't want them knowing I fancied you. That I was what, embarrassed? Ashamed? You silly git." Albus once again cuddled Scorpius against his chest, pleased when the blonde wrapped his arms tightly around him too. "I'll admit to not having a bloody clue how things are going to go between us, but I'm not embarrassed to say that I apparently swing both ways. And I'm definitely not embarrassed that you're the one that has me thinking that. Got it?"

"Got it." Was Scorpius's soft reply.

Making a sound that indicated he wasn't completely buying it Albus pulled back and took one of the blonde's hands in his, tugging on it as he led the other man towards their rooms.

The two arriving to find Lily waiting for them with Phoenix, Albus smiled at his sister. "I'll give you five galleons to go take Phoenix for a quick walk somewhere for the next fifteen minutes."

"Sold."

Scorpius watched them go with confusion written all over his face. "Why did you ask them to leave?"

Albus grinned. "So that I could spend the next ten to fifteen minutes doing what we were doing before Rosie interrupted us. Let's see if I can't make how I feel about you perfectly clear, shall we?"

Opening his mouth to comment Scorpius's words were muffled against the other man's lips, the Slytherin quickly coming to the conclusion that words were definitely not needed as he wrapped his arms around Albus's waist. His bad ass genes might have gone into hibernation but his sexual drive was still operating at peak, teenage efficiency, and he was being snogged by the only love of his short life. And with that in mind Scorpius kissed the man back with everything he had as he found himself being backed up against their front door, groaning low in his throat as he lovingly slid his tongue against the Gryffindor's.

It was good to be home.

)

With a definite skip to her steps Lily walked beside her little nephew, the boy's golden hair glowing like a halo as he did some happy skipping of his own. Or the baby version of skipping since the kid didn't quite have perfect motor control just yet. Merlin help them when he did though, Lily thought with a chuckle, grinning down at the boy who grinned back at her. They were both very pleased with the two boys they'd just left behind them and they were more than happy to broadcast that fact to anyone they might encounter while they gave the two in question time to snog each other's brains out.

"And isn't it both interesting and humorous that you literally glow when they're getting hot and heavy." Lily murmured, smirking at the baby who had lost interest in her as he turned his attention to a spider scuttling its way up the castle wall.

Happy to let him occupy himself that way Lily turned her attention to being happy that her brother had apparently gotten his act together and had realized that the guy he was living with was totally over the moon for him and was way better then some twit like his Hufflepuff ex.

It was really too bad that one was her brother and the other was an honorary one, thus preventing her from enjoying the thought of them making out the way she could have if they'd been another pair of hot guys.

"But you can't have everything, Phoenix." Lily told her nephew, who had no idea what his Funny One was talking about but nodded anyway to humor her. Sensing this she grinned, pleased to have a nephew so willing to humor her. They were going to have so much fun together once the kid learned to talk. Oh but she had plans.

He loved the Funny One, even when she didn't make sense. But most of the people didn't make sense to him all the time so Phoenix assumed that was normal when it came to the people who looked like him but were bigger. The creatures that didn't speak the way Funny One or Mummy did understood him though. He liked them. There weren't a lot of them in the place they were in now. Except for the creatures that looked like Tomo but weren't Tomo.

Hearing the sound of someone coming Phoenix moved around his aunt, eyes widening in delight when he saw who was coming towards them. "Fwinty!"

While Lily laughed over the baby's slight mangling of the badass Slytherin's name Phoenix ran towards his friend, laughing in delight when he was scooped up and then lightly tossed into the air, coming down to be caught easily in the boy's large hands.

"Wotcher, Flint."

"Potter." Flint returned, nodding his head in her direction before turning his attention back to the baby who was patting his cheek to gain his attention. "You want something, Little Man?"

Grinning, Phoenix nodded his head and then motioned his aunt over with his other hand, keeping the action up until she was standing a foot away from the Slytherin, who seemed as mystified as her as to what the boy was up to.

Keeping one hand on Flint's cheek Phoenix leaned forward and pressed his other palm against his aunt's cheek, making a sound of satisfaction once he was touching them both, looking back and forth between them with a big smile on his cherub face.

"Do you know what he's up to?" Flint asked, a little off balance to find himself so close to the infamous Lily Potter. The girl was more trouble than a rogue bludger after all, and they certainly didn't travel in the same circles.

"No idea." Not at all worried about that Lily just grinned at the Slytherin. Phoenix was her nephew after all so being a little weird was not only to be expected but a given. "So how's your day going?"

"Getting weirder by the second."

"That tends to be the case where I'm concerned."

Nodding his complete belief in that statement Flint took a step back, ignoring the disgruntled look he got from Phoenix for forcing him to break the contact since the baby's reach wasn't long enough now to keep them joined. "And I have to be going, so I'll see you both later."

Taking Phoenix from him Lily grinned. "Nice forming a trinity with you."

Making a sound of amusement Flint continued on his way and after a thoughtful pause Lily headed the way the other man had come, figuring that the allotted time had passed anyway.

To say that Albus and Scorpius were both mushed, disheveled, and pleasurably dazed when Lily returned with Phoenix was a serious understatement, but she was in such a good mood she opted not to tease them about it.

Too much.

)

Sitting beside Scorpius at dinner with Phoenix in her lap, Gabrielle would have asked her best friend why he was in such a good mood despite the weird looks he was getting from Potter's relatives if not for the slight hint of a love bite on his neck that was just visible when he moved his neck a certain way. Since Potter was the only one who her best friend would allow to nibble on his neck part of the answer was obvious. Now she couldn't help but speculate that the Gryffindor's sister or a cousin had walked in on the two making out, but since they were surrounded by their fellow Slytherins she couldn't ask if that was the reason for the looks.

Thinking about it had also killed a lot of her appetite, hence the fact that she'd volunteered to hold the baby instead of eating any of the food on the table in front of her.

Obviously sensing the mood she was in Phoenix didn't squirm as much as he normally would, sucking on his little knuckles as he looked around them with interest, occasionally waving at some of the students he knew, gurgling his pleasure when they happened to notice and waved back.

Not so off in his happy, R rated thoughts that he didn't eventually clue into the fact that his best friend wasn't eating and seemed off in her own little world Scorpius set down his fork and knife. Because wherever she was it wasn't nearly as happy as the one he'd been in before he noticed her mood.

"Did Fred Weasley come and see you again to apologize?"

The dark clouds hanging around her head seemed to grow before Scorpius's slightly worried eyes.

"Do you want me to ask Albus to ask his cousin not to speak to you anymore? Or maybe Lily? He'd probably listen to her better seeing as she's…well Lily." The girl had been extremely amused by them both when she'd brought Phoenix back after giving them their fifteen minute make out session. Thankfully Albus had kicked her out before she could embarrass him too much.

"I can handle Fred Weasley." Gabrielle informed him through clenched teeth.

Scorpius chose his words very carefully. "Weasleys aren't exactly known for knowing when to admit defeat. In fact…they just don't."

The look that came into the girl's eyes was just a little scary. "And this Fred would do well to remember what happened to the last Fred Weasley who crossed a Slytherin and thought he could get away with it."

"Elle…you aren't capable of killing someone just because he's been a bit of a prat where you're concerned."

"A BIT of a prat?"

"A huge prat." Scorpius hastily corrected himself, stumbling over his words as he quickly found all sorts of negative words to describe his boyfriend's cousin. Albus was his boyfriend.

Watching the dreamy, life is too friggin perfect for words look come back onto her best friend's face Gabrielle sighed and gave up trying to reason with the hormonal idiot. He was right after all, she couldn't kill Fred, as much as the idea might please her in theory. Unfortunately being annoying wasn't a crime, but it was only a matter of time before he gave up and just left her the hell alone.

When that day happened she was throwing herself a little party to celebrate the happy occasion.

)

After dinner Scorpius wasn't that surprised to find all of Albus's cousins eager to walk with their cousin part of the way, the Slytherin grateful when they indicated that he was welcome to go on ahead. From the way they grinned at him it wasn't hard to see that they intended to tease Albus something horrible, but their intended victim just motioned him to walk ahead on them, willing to take the brunt of the reactions since they were his family to deal with after all. Pride and his love for the Gryffindor had Scorpius dragging his feet, prepared to take his share of the rubbing in and innuendoes, but the other members of his 'family' wouldn't hear of it and shooed him and Phoenix off.

"He really is so very adorable." Rosie announced as soon as the Slytherin was far enough away not to hear her. And oh how weird it was to say that about a Malfoy.

"I think he's a very nice person and I support you." Hugo informed his cousin, pleased with the situation.

Lily grinned and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, eager to cut through the mushy crap and get to what really interested her. "Well I just want to know just how far you two love birds have gotten while our backs were turned."

Albus gave his sister a less than amused look, the color high in his cheeks as he resisted the urge to whack her upside the head. "You have such a gutter brain, you know that, don't you?"

"Oh please." She rolled her eyes but didn't deny the truth of his statement either. "And how can I not be curious? I mean he's so sweet and shy but he's been lusting after you for years so I've gotta wonder just how close you two have gotten and the suspense is killing me. You don't want to be responsible for the premature death of your only sister, do you? Daddy would never forgive you."

"Wait…what?"

Rosie looked at her cousin questioningly, asking the question they were all thinking. "What do you mean, he's been lusting after Al for years?"

"How I'm the only one in this whole castle aside from Elle who noticed that Malfoy's fancied Al since they were my age is beyond me."

While everyone else gaped in shock at Lily's words Hugo nodded his head sagely. "Well that certainly explains why Gabrielle always seemed to dislike Al so much even though he's never done anything to her. He stole her man without even trying." The boy gave his older cousin a considering look. "It's a good thing she doesn't take after her brothers or she would have seriously maimed you by now, Al. If she had their lack of brains, she'd have figured that just messing up your looks would be enough to get him back."

"I think she's accepted that he'll never be hers." Lily told Hugo, pleased that he at least wasn't gaping at her like a landed fish. "I mean the being able to provide him with a heir thing was probably the only hope she had of getting him to marry her and Al up and gave him a baby on top of everything else."

"No wonder she's been so violent in dealing with Fred." Hugo added, putting two and two together. "She must be taking out all her pain and frustration on him. Maybe we should tell him that, it might keep him from further injury."

"Hold it!" Albus yelled, breaking up their discussion on whether or not Fred should be left in the dark as to why spending time around Gabrielle was especially hazardous to his health at the moment. "Be kind, rewind. What do you mean he's fancied me since we were fifteen? Are you serious? That long?"

"Possibly longer." Was her matter of fact reply. "I mean I was only thirteen when I clued in, who knows what I missed before then."

"But how did I miss this?" Rosie demanded to know, insulted beyond words.

"You're book smart, not romance smart." Lily informed her cousin with a smirk. "If you were you'd know that there's someone in this school who's fancied you almost as long as Malfoy's fancied my darling, clueless till now brother. Not that I'm telling you who." She added, the look on her face one that everyone recognized to mean that not even bribery would get her to spill. Lily prided herself on not outing a person's feelings for another person, knowing how she'd feel if she ever had a secret crush and someone spilled the beans on her. Albus obviously knew how her favorite Slytherin felt about him, she'd just clued her idiot brother into just how deep those feelings probably went.

After all, she was a hopeless romantic, and much preferred maneuvering the would be couples into becoming couples whether they wanted her help or not.

It was so much more fun that way.


	37. Simple Bonding

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters end up in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy it.

Simple Bonding

Processing the fact that the blonde walking ahead of them had apparently been seriously interested in him for years but hadn't seen fit to tell him on his own, Albus rubbed the back of his neck in agitation as he figured out how he felt about that. Needless to say he wasn't too pleased with his sister or Scorpius at the moment since they both should have told him about this before now. His sister he'd deal with later, he wanted to talk things over with his boyfriend first. And it was still weird to think that he had one of those but that wasn't important at the moment. What was important was getting some answers from his shy little Slytherin.

"Okay, you guys, head on back to the tower, my man's got some s'plaining to do."

"Awww, he's your man." Lily cooed with a wide grin on her face.

"It's just so weird." Was Rosie's opinion on the matter, though she was behind them a hundred percent.

"Well that's not for us to say." Hugo stated as he linked arms with his sister and cousin, turning them with his hold. Tugging them back the way they'd come the youngest member of the trio called out his good nights, the girls doing the same as they reluctantly allowed themselves to be led away.

Hastily returning the good byes Albus gave a quick wave and then picked up his pace so that he could catch up with Scorpius.

Hearing the sound of the man's approaching footsteps Scorpius paused and looked back, noting immediately that the others were nowhere in sight now. And there was something about the way the Gryffindor was looking at him that didn't bode well for him, the Slytherin thought as he instinctively held Phoenix a little tighter to him.

"Albus?"

"Just how long have you fancied me, exactly?"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." Cheeks flushing at the question Scorpius's shoulders hunched defensively. "Why?"

Crossing his arms in front of him Albus turned his head and gave the man a look that would have done his mother proud. "Because I want to know."

Scorpius's back immediately went up at Albus's tone of voice, the baby in his arms preventing him from crossing his own arms in a display of annoyance.

"Don't you take that tone with me, Albus Potter." He informed the Gryffindor, sounding remarkably like his own mother.

Laughing at them both Phoenix clapped his hands and gurgled. His parents were so funny when they were sounding and acting like their mummies.

Not being a complete idiot Albus was aware of the fact that he was once again acting like an idiot, something he seemed to do around the other man when it came to his feelings where Scorpius was concerned. He'd never been like this with any of his girlfriends, but then Naomi had been his most serious relationship and he'd gotten over her pretty easily. That was something else to think about after he got his answer to his original question. Just how much did Scorpius mean to him already?

"Please tell me how long you've fancied me? I'm half Weasley, we can die from not having our curiosity appeased. It's a proven fact, ask anyone in my family."

"You're making that up."

"Yes, yes I am. But I'm adorable and you fancy me so fess up."

Lips twitching in spite of himself Scorpius stroked Phoenix's back as he asked the obvious question. "Why does it matter when I started liking you?" Color flushed across his cheeks again, darker this time. "What matters is we…like each other."

"That we do." Reaching over Albus took the blonde's hand in his, squeezing it as he kept the Slytherin's hand in his. "And since you like me…please?"

He was not going to let this go, Scorpius acknowledged with a sigh, knowing the other man too well to think otherwise. And at this point how embarrassing could it be, especially since he was getting the vibe that somehow the Gryffindor had learned that he'd had romantic feelings for him for a long time. He was guessing Lily, her teasing over the past few weeks had been just a little too pointed to be entirely accidental.

"I've fancied you since our fourth year. Now can we change the subject?"

Since he got that Scorpius hadn't clued him in earlier because he was embarrassed Albus decided to let it go, pleased to have gotten his answer even though it opened a whole new series of questions he wanted to ask. But he'd space those questions out so that his Slytherin didn't overload and clam up on him.

So he let Scorpius change the subject, content to bid his time.

)

Arriving back at their rooms both boys had homework to do so they got out a bunch of their son's toys, put them and a blanket on the floor for Phoenix, and then retrieved their books to get down to work. Depending on how you looked at it they were lucky that a couple of days ago Phoenix had received a book in the mail that made animal sounds depending on which creature he pointed at in the book. The baby loved it so he was thoroughly distracted, but there was nothing like having the room filled with the noises of purring cats and barking dogs to make concentrating just a little difficult. But then just doing homework while Phoenix was in the vicinity was difficult, so both ignored it as best they could and tried to be thankful that at least he wasn't moving around the room or wanting them to play with him.

Maybe it made him a bad parent, but he so, so wanted to throw that damn book out the window, Scorpius thought as he longingly remembered his once quiet dorm room where he had been able to do his homework in peace. Not to mention the fact that back in the day he hadn't needed to lift his head from his work to constantly glance to the side to make sure Phoenix was behaving himself.

"Want me to take him somewhere else?" Albus offered, sensing that Scorpius's workload, combined with the very irritating animal noises filling their study area, was annoying the Slytherin quite a bit. The other man wasn't used to a noisy atmosphere the way he was.

Scorpius looked over at the Gryffindor questioningly, having to ask the man to repeat the question since he'd missed it the first time. When he heard the offer he was seriously tempted, but that wouldn't be fair and he said so.

Albus shook his head in disagreement. "This is why single parenting can be so problematic, Scorpius. Everyone has bad days, or things come up that they need to take care of but can't because there's a little person in their life who has to come first. You're obviously having problems with whatever you're working on, and unlike a single parent YOU have a partner in this who can give you a break and take over." The Gryffindor grinned mischievously. "With the understanding of course, that in the future I'm going to need you to do the same for me because you want me to remain sane too. We're a team, right?"

"Right. What you're working on can wait?" He could use the break, but he wasn't going to go for it if the Gryffindor's work would suffer as a result. Albus's NEWTS were more important than his own since in the long run his grades were more about his pride than his future job opportunities.

"I have some readings to do and I'm excellent at blocking out noise. He can sit on my lap so I know he's there and play with his book to his little heart's content."

Shaking his head Scorpius couldn't begin to figure out how the man could do that. Of course the man's best friend was a musician with questionable taste in bands according to Albus. Maybe the Gryffindor had just heard so much bad music that it had been a matter of survival, learning how to block out annoying sounds.

Reading the other man's face Albus grinned and pushed back his seat, tucking one of his textbooks under his arm before heading over to collect their son, picking the baby and the book up together. Sending a wink in Scorpius's direction the Gryffindor headed out of the room and decided that he and their son would have themselves a little book club in the bedroom.

He'd soundproof the room so Scorpius wouldn't be remotely bothered.

Making a sound of pleasure as the room went completely silent Scorpius rolled his shoulders and then got to work, finishing the assignment in record time as he threw himself into getting it done as quickly as possible. When that was done he turned his attention to outlining an essay, slowly becoming aware of the fact that now it really was too quiet in the room.

And sorta lonely.

Which makes absolutely no sense, the Slytherin told himself as he dipped his quill in his inkwell. He liked things quiet. Quiet was conductive to getting things done quickly and efficiently. He was used to things being quiet unless he had music playing.

Or he used to be.

He'd gotten used to having Albus and Phoenix around at night. It felt strange for them to not be close by. He was used to being able to see them, talk to them, needing to check on them to make sure that Albus wasn't goofing off when he was supposed to be working and that Phoenix hadn't gotten into something he wasn't supposed to. That was his life now.

And he rather liked it that way now that he thought about it.

Forcing himself to finish the outline Scorpius pushed his homework aside as soon as it was done, tidying up a little out of habit before grabbing one of his own textbooks. If Albus could learn to read through the noise then so could he.

Letting himself into their bedroom the Slytherin smiled when he saw that Albus was all tucked into bed and reading, his eyes figuring out that the small bump under the Gryffindor's covers was their son. Or at least he hoped that that was what was in the bed with Albus since the bump was moving and giggling.

Looking up from his book Albus grinned. "Perfect timing. Block the other side so he can't fall out if he gets too close to the edge."

Smiling back Scorpius walked over to take the other side of the Gryffindor's bed, sliding under the covers too. Settling himself back against the headboard the blonde gave the other man a questioning look. "So how long has he been under there?"

"A few minutes. I had to take the book away from him. It was that or use my wand to incinerate the damn thing."

"I was thinking about just throwing it out the window." Scorpius admitted with a grin. "And don't say the d word."

Albus laughed but acknowledged that it would not bode well for them if Phoenix started swearing in front of people. Especially their mothers. "You're kinder than I am if you were going to let the bloody thing continue to exist." The fact that he'd probably annoyed his parents playing with similar books occurred to the Gryffindor, which made him wonder if that wasn't why his mother had sent the book in the first place. Payback.

Mothers were devious that way.

Looking down the length of the bed since Phoenix had come over to check him out and was currently flopped over his leg, Scorpius grinned and gently tipped the baby backward, laughing when the baby did, the little boy immediately thinking this was the game.

And as it turned out he could read his book and lift his leg multiple times too, tipping Phoenix over for the boy's amusement and delight.

Things were good now, Scorpius thought as he read with a smile on his face.

Right.

)

The next day Gabrielle sat on a school bench in a deserted hallway, quizzing herself for the class that would start in another twenty minutes. She'd come early because her dorm room wasn't an option due to a psycho roommate and the library had been full. Okay, her roommate wasn't psycho, but the girl was acting like it was the end of the friggin world because they bloke she fancied had a new girlfriend. Please. HER man had left her for another GUY. She had it way worse but was she crying and stuffing chocolate into her face? No. SHE was too mature for that.

And she really needed to start studying or she was going to fail her test.

Doing her best to do so Gabrielle looked up when she sensed she was no longer alone, eyes narrowing threateningly as she craned her neck back so that she could meet Fred's gaze.

Reading clearly in her eyes that she thought he had a death wish Fred did his best to keep his face from betraying just how adorable he found it when she glared at him this way. "Don't worry, I just came here to tell you that I'm going to stop bugging you with apologies you apparently don't want to hear. Though I do still swear on the name of my namesake that I was going to compliment your butt, not insult it." Why she found that so hard to believe was still beyond him, but that was a woman for you. "I also wanted to make it clear that I'm not leaving you alone because you scare me. Well you do, sorta, but that's because I have so many women in my life that I know you guys really are the most dangerous creatures in the world. What I mean is, Rosie filled me in on the fact that things are rough for you at the moment and I don't want to add to it."

Gabrielle's eyes narrowed even more. "What do you mean…rough for me?"

Uh oh. Maybe he shouldn't have said that. The girl slowly getting to her feet in front of him could so kick his little cousin's ass. She probably wouldn't, since she was so tight with Malfoy, but still…in a cat fight between Gabrielle and Rosie there wasn't a chance in hell his cousin would win.

Think very carefully about what you say now, Fred Weasley, the man told himself. Lives might depend on it.

"I just meant that you're used to having Scorpius all to yourself. It must be hard sharing him with my family after having the monopoly of him for seventeen years."

Crossing her arms Gabrielle's body language made it clear that she wasn't buying it. And being far more intelligent than most people gave her credit for, she put two and two together and figured that the reason Potter's relatives had been shooting Scorpius such weird looks the night before was because they now knew that her best friend and their cousin were a couple.

And since everyone knew how she felt about Scorpius…the stupid man in front of her had come to express his sympathies that she'd been dumped by offering to be one less headache for her to deal with.

If it weren't so bloody embarrassing it would almost be sweet of him.

Seeing that she'd read between the lines and hadn't exploded Fred breathed a sigh of relief.

Gabrielle couldn't help but smile a little at that, though she immediately schooled her features into indifference when he grinned at her reaction. "I don't like you."

"Sure you do. Everyone likes me. I'm a very likable guy."

"My brothers don't like you." She pointed out smugly.

Acknowledging this Fred grinned, knowing from Albus that the girl didn't mind people insulting her twin brothers. "Okay…all sentient beings like me. Better?"

Laughing in spite of herself Gabrielle nodded. "I could name plenty of sentient beings who don't like you. Not just Slytherins either. I'd imagine that there are any number of people you've experimented on over the years who don't think of you fondly, Mr. Weasley."

"Please, all beautiful women must call me Fred."

Heat flared in the girl's eyes, though not the sort that the former Gryffindor had been hoping for. "Why do you keep doing that? Saying things like that to me? I get that in your highly experimented on brain you think you're being nice, but telling people they're something they're not is really just mean."

"If you think you aren't beautiful because the man you wanted isn't in love with you, well that's just stupid. He's gay, Elle. Even if you were more gorgeous than my Veela relatives you still wouldn't have stood a chance. Well…unless you changed your gender and that would have been such a waste. There really are no words."

Gabrielle's cheeks flushed with color. "I didn't give you permission to call me by my first name, much less my nickname. And you don't know anything."

"Don't I?" Fred returned, crossing his arms now too, more than ready to defend his early statements. "I'm a man, and I assure you my vision is perfect. I see you and I think you're beautiful. Even when you're plotting to maim me in ways I hope you'll never describe to me, much less actually do. You're not a man, so don't propose you know what we do and do not find attractive. You might not be some guys' type, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm not lying when I call you beautiful. You are."

"You're such an idiot." Was the best Gabrielle could come up with as she continued to blush, unable to meet the man's gaze.

"You're most definitely not the first person to think so. But I'm still adorably likeable, you gotta admit."

She might think it, Gabrielle thought to herself, but damn if she'd say it.


	38. Bonding With Friends

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy this latest fanfic.

Okay, so I'm at a crossroads with this fanfic since it's become so fluffy that putting in M content strikes me as a bad idea at this point. Thoughts from you guys would be helpful. I was thinking making it T content instead, for those who tuned in expecting guy on guy action.

Bonding With Friends

To say that Phoenix was squirming with excitement would be an understatement of epic proportions. As a result Albus was terribly glad for all his previous babysitting experience since it meant he was used to handling kids who didn't want to be held. Now would definitely not be a good time to accidentally drop his son, the Gryffindor thought wryly. Not that it was ever a good time to drop Phoenix on his head of course, but dropping him while he was walking down a steep, rocky hill would be really, really bad. And since the little boy was still too unsteady on his feet to navigate down the hill on his own he was going to have to be carried, even if he obviously thought he should be allowed to do otherwise.

Breathing a sigh of relief when they were back on somewhat level ground the Gryffindor set his son down on his feet, thinking not for the first time that a leash wouldn't be a bad idea as the boy immediately took off as fast as he was capable of going in the direction of Hagrid's hut.

Shaking his head Albus took off after him, thankful for his own long legs as he caught up to the boy, jogging beside him as he tried to tell himself that he was skilled enough that he could easily grab his son before the boy took a header into the ground or a passing boulder. But what if Phoenix did fall and hit his head? His bones would break so easily or he could hit his head at a bad angle and-

"Merlin help me, I really am turning into a bloody mother."

Giggling away Phoenix just kept running in his adorable way, apparently oblivious to the fact that he was prematurely aging his mummy with every step he took.

When they arrived at the hut Albus lifted the boy back into the safety of his arms, cradling Phoenix against his chest with one hand while he knocked with the other, ridiculously grateful when Hagrid answered promptly.

"HAGGY!"

Beaming brightly at the sight of the little boy whose arms were outstretched towards him Hagrid carefully took Phoenix from Albus, studying the boy with a sweet, somewhat far off look in his eyes. "I remember when you were this small, Al. Looked just like you're Da even then, you did. He'd bring you and James by, you always loved ta come here ta see me and me pets."

Seeing that Hagrid was getting all choked up at the memories Albus grinned at his father's friend as he closed the door behind them. "There was always such interesting stuff in here to play with. And you always had some gift you'd picked up in the forest for us as I recall. I think I still have a box somewhere at home filled with it all. Thanks for inviting us to tea, by the way. Scorpius was sorry he couldn't come too." Actually he'd gotten the distinct impression that his boyfriend hadn't been terribly choked up about it, but that was mostly because he'd happened to mention what Hagrid tended to serve as refreshments to his guests. His Slytherin didn't have the strongest stomach in the world.

Delighting himself with the fun of playing with the various odds and ends he was finding in Big One's beard Phoenix made no attempt to get free or back on his feet, content to be held for the moment while his mummy and Big One talked.

Taking a seat at the table Albus gladly took the tea Hagrid poured for him, which was bound to be too strong but would definitely warm him up. It was cool and damp outside, though Scorpius had bundled them both up before letting them leave so from the neck down he'd been warm enough. A little too warm now, he decided, taking his coat off and hanging it over the back of his chair. It brought a smile to his face to watch Hagrid take off Phoenix's coat too, remembering the other man doing the same for him plenty when he was young.

"Just don't take off his hat." He advised, figuring that would be the next article of clothing to remove. "He doesn't like anyone messing with it."

"And a fine teddy bear hat it is too." Hagrid agreed, thankful for the warning. "He's quite sturdy, he is. All that running he's been doin, I suppose. Lily was by a couple days ago and she was sayin that Phoenix here rarely stops movin these days less he's sleepin."

Albus laughed and inclined his head in absolute agreement. "Yeah. I told Scorpius we should just tie him to a pole and let him run around in circles for a few hours to calm him down every day. He didn't care for that idea."

"I'll bet he didn't. Phoenix here is probably the most active Malfoy in over a century." Admiring the strand of unicorn hair the boy had apparently pulled off his jumper, now when had that got there, Hagrid winked at the little one before turning his attention back to his guest. "So how's that going then, you and Malfoy sharin him and such? I'll admit this latest one doesn't seem to be the trouble makin type, least he's never given me any. Seems like the quiet sort."

"He is and it's going really well. I really like him."

Now that was not something one heard a Potter say about a Malfoy on a regular basis. Come to think of it, in all his decades, Hagrid couldn't recall hearing a Potter say anything remotely complimentary about any Malfoy he'd ever known before this generation. Course he'd never known a Malfoy he could stand to be around sides the ones who were now calling Al their family.

And since few things ruined a good mood like talking about the Malfoys he'd used to know Hagrid steered the question to more interesting topics. "So has he started matchin people up yet? Probably too young for that yet, eh? For the best I suppose, since it would frustrate him, not being able to talk so that he could make people understand what he's doin."

"Matching people?"

"Dinna those healers at St. Mungos tell ya what he could do?"

"Apparently they left a couple things out."

Shaking his shaggy head Hagrid explained himself. "Well they told ya how he makes everyone around him happy right? Well part of that is the fact that creatures like Phoenix need a happy environment seein as that's their food source. They like bein around people who are full of love most of all, so they use their ability to see people's auras to match them up sometimes. Find them their soul mate. They ain't ever wrong apparently, though when a Soul Egg is born not human it ain't always that successful unless someone recognizes what it is and tells the people that the Katra's tryin to match them."

He wasn't terribly fond of his son being called a creature, but Albus was too caught up in the rest to care, especially since Hagrid didn't mean it in an insulting way. From the half giant it was probably more of a term of endearment.

"So he…when he learns to talk he could be…a professional matchmaker?"

Hagrid's big, bushy eyebrows furrowed as he considered the possibility. "I suppose so. He'd be bloody good at it, now wouldn't he?"

Considering this Albus pictured him and Scorpius being bombarded by commitment phobic wizards and witches who wanted Phoenix's opinion on whether or not they should stay or get involved with someone else. It could get very ugly, especially when they got answers they wouldn't like. How would he and Scorpius match up in Phoenix's eyes? Would he think they were meant to be together or would he say that he was the bond between them? Or would he just lie since he wouldn't want them to split up because they were his parents?

"So he hasn't tried to pair anyone up yet?" Hagrid asked again, genuinely curious about all things Phoenix related.

"Not that I know of." Was Albus's absentminded response. "Then again he only spends time with a limited…oh fu-fudgesicle." Only barely did the Gryffindor catch himself before he said the f word in front of Phoenix. "Lily said something about Phoenix and how he…oh no…not Flint…that would so not end well. They'd kill each other."

Pretty sure who the Gryffindor meant Hagrid tried to picture Lily with the notorious Slytherin Quidditch captain. "Well he'd certainly be tough enough to handle her." He pointed out, trying to cheer Albus up. "And she always said how she wants a big family, and that she'd get from the size of that Flint boy's family."

"True." He'd give the other man that much. "And Mum would probably like the idea of another professional Quidditch player in the family." Still, he couldn't see James liking the idea one little bit, not to mention the fact that Flint probably wouldn't be all that thrilled either. Lily…well Lily was too bizarre to predict with any real accuracy when it came to this sort of thing so her reaction was impossible to guess.

On cue Phoenix burst out into delighted laughter, as if he knew what his mummy was imagining and found it to be utterly hilarious.

)

Leaving the classroom together since Davey wanted to talk to Albus about something, Scorpius was pleasantly surprised to find that his boyfriend and son were waiting for them with Phoenix hopping in place since his mummy currently had a good grip on his hand and wasn't letting him go running into the crowded hallway. The two boys plus Magda immediately picked up on the fact that Albus was off in his own little world as they made their way towards him, Davey deliberately startled his best friend, just for kicks.

Glaring at his friend Albus would have smacked Davey upside the head if he didn't have more important things to think about.

"Did you have a nice visit with Hagrid?" Scorpius inquired, picking Phoenix up since the crowds were getting worse and he didn't want someone accidentally knocking the little boy into the castle wall behind him. Hitching his son up on his hip the Slytherin wisely retrieved one of the boy's toys from his school bag and handed it over. He'd gotten in the habit of stashing one in his satchel for moments like this. It paid to be prepared.

"It was certainly interesting."

Raising an eyebrow at the Gryffindor's tone of voice Scorpius gave Albus a questioning look. "Oh?"

"I'll explain when there aren't so many ears around to hear. The longer this remains unknown by the general public the better. It's going to be bad enough in the real world but in a school…talk about nightmare inducing." He didn't even want to think about what his fellow teenagers would do if they learned of Phoenix's apparent gift. They were already crazy enough with hormones and such.

"Can we come with or is this a family meeting?" Davey asked, still having a question but not wanting to intrude.

While Scorpius did his best to hide his pleasure at having someone refer to him as Albus family the Gryffindor assured both his friends that they could come with them. He knew he could trust them to keep the info to themselves.

Once he was pretty sure that there was no one close by who could overhear and blab it all to the rest of the student body Albus told Scorpius and his friends about what Hagrid had told him earlier, including his worry that Phoenix might have paired his sister up with Flint. There was also the question of whether or not he was obligated to clue said sister in since there was no way to know for sure that that was what Phoenix had meant to do. He was really hoping they'd agree he should keep his mouth shut. It was as much for Flint's sake as his own after all.

While Scorpius and Davey reeled over the possibilities Magda studied the little boy as he played with his little stuffed bunny, wondering if he'd tell her that she was meant for Davey when he finally learned to talk in full sentences. Wouldn't that be handy? Then her father would have to accept that her boyfriend was good enough for her.

"Rosie will want his help figuring out who has a crush on her here." Davey pointed out lamely, having been filled in on the fact that the girl was currently peeved at the youngest Potter for refusing to reveal that information. "All the girls will want his help. It will be absolute chaos."

Albus smiled ruefully. "But at least he'll always have a job to fall back on."

"I don't think you should tell Lily about Flint until we're a hundred percent sure about it. Merlin only knows what she'd do." Magda advised, pulling herself out of her own musings to volunteer her opinion. She was the only girl after all, it was her duty to be the voice of reason among the testosterone.

"Tell me what about Flint?"

All four of them jumped in surprise, Phoenix delighted by the unexpected movement.

Whirling around Albus looked into his sister's eyes, frantically trying to come up with a believable lie to feed her.

Reading his expression with ease Lily rolled her eyes at him. "Please, like I don't know when you're lying to me. Spill it, Bro of I'll make you."

"It's nothing important, Lily." Scorpius assured her, trying to come to Albus's rescue. "Just a thought he had that might not even be grounded in reality."

Not at all sure what Scorpius meant by that Lily studied the others with suspicious eyes that suggested she was trying to figure out who was the weakest link.

No one was really surprised when her eyes came back to drill holes in Scorpius's direction.

)

Phoenix's busier than usual day led to the baby actually falling asleep during dessert so that when the meal finished Scorpius picked his son up to carry him out while Gabrielle carried the boy's chair, doing her best not to show just how unbelievably adorable she thought Phoenix was when he was sleeping. She noticed plenty of the girls going all gooey and sighing and refused to sink to that level. Unlike them she had the personal fortitude to only be gooey on the inside. Though Gabrielle was willing to admit that if she was the one holding him, with his little fist clutching her lapel, she'd be a puddle at the moment. Scorpius deserved a medal for restraining himself to the point where he just nuzzled his cheek against his son's dandelion hair as they walked down the aisle to meet up with the rest of her best friend's immediate family.

"I could draw all over his face with markers and he probably wouldn't wake up." Lily stated as soon as they'd joined her and her brother at the entrance to the hall. She was still peeved that Scorpius refused to explain what her brother had been talking about earlier, and every time she'd seen him since then he'd been holding Phoenix so she couldn't tickle the answer out of him.

Since Phoenix would probably think it as funny as Lily had apparently thought it to be when she was younger Scorpius opted to just be grateful that the girl didn't have a marker on hand.

"I'll take the chair." Albus offered, pleased when Gabrielle handed it over. She'd been a lot more civil to him since she and Fred had apparently settled their differences. At least temporarily. It was probably only a matter of time before the two were at odds again given their personalities.

Since she wasn't going in the same direction as the boys and had homework to do Gabrielle bid the others good bye and headed off, Lily doing the same so that her brother could walk with his boyfriend alone. Phoenix was getting more and more active after all and she was definitely getting the feeling that they weren't getting nearly as much one on one time as they wanted. It was still a new relationship so to speak after all.

And she needed time to plot how to get the information she sought anyway.

So by themselves Albus and Scorpius started heading towards their rooms, Phoenix off in la la land and wonderfully still for the time being.

Once they had left the rest of their peers behind Albus reached out and took Scorpius's hand in his, squeezing it with a grin on his face. He would have taken it earlier but the blonde tended to spaz quite a bit if he showed him anything resembling affection in public. Which was adorable, Albus thought with a grin, but wouldn't earn him any brownie points where Scorpius was concerned.

Shyly squeezing back Scorpius could only marvel at the affectionate nature of the Weasley/Potter clan. It was seriously no wonder that there was so many of them.

"So I've got another question for you." The quick glance the other man shot in his direction made it pretty clear to Albus that Scorpius didn't want to answer any more of his questions, but as far as he was concerned he was being extremely nice to limit himself to asking his questions off and on concerning their relationship and how the Slytherin felt about him. It was a dilemma.

"What's the question?" He was resigned by now, the man's curiosity knowing no bounds.

"Will you go on a date with me?"


	39. Feathering The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Feathering The Bond

Waking up slowly Albus stared up at the ceiling as his brain clicked into gear, orienting himself before turning his head in the direction of the bed beside his own, wondering what Scorpius would say if he were to tell the Slytherin that he'd had an incredibly hot dream about him and whipped cream during the night. Imagining the other man's response had the Gryffindor's lips curving in a grin even as he studied his boyfriend's profile, loving the way Scorpius's hair stuck out all over the place in the blonde's usual bedhead manner. It really was too cute for words. Sighing Albus couldn't help but think about how tempting it also was, the idea that he could just leave his own bed and snuggle up with his completely unsuspecting man instead. The Slytherin was such a deep sleeper he probably wouldn't even notice.

At least at first.

Ah, how quickly the teenage mind turned to sex.

Rolling his eyes at his thoughts Albus sighed again, the thought reminding him of the fact that he really did have to do something about his lack of knowledge when it came to the more physical aspects of dating another man. He wasn't dumb, he could figure out the general stuff, but he doubted that Scorpius had looked into it and there was no way he wouldn't accidentally hurt the other man without some guidelines to go by.

He was probably getting ahead of himself too.

But since he technically didn't have to be awake just yet Albus decided that he was going to laze around for a bit longer instead of getting up like he usual would. Or he was getting up, but not for long, the Gryffindor thought with a grin as he got out of his own bed and into the Slytherin's, snuggling under the covers as he scooted closer so that he was as close to his man as he could get without actually climbing on top of him, tempting as that was.

And so he lay there and waited for the other man's alarm to sound off, waiting until Scorpius's eyes were open before he twisted around to shut said alarm off before turning his attention back to his still half asleep Slytherin, thinking the blonde utterly adorable when he rubbed at his eyes like a little kid.

"Morning." Scorpius yawned out as he turned his head to meet his boyfriend's gaze, some part of his brain processing the fact that Albus was in bed with him, but was not yet awake enough to freak out over that fact.

"Morning yourself, Cutie." Leaning in Albus pressed his lips against Scorpius's, making a sound of pleasure when the blonde's lips parted easily for him, giving him full access to the man's mouth.

Sighing happily the Slytherin was quite content to be kissed awake, eyes drifting shut again as he cuddled close, pleased when Albus's arm came around him waist to keep him there.

Long, lazy kisses followed, the two utterly steeped in what they were doing so that they completely forgot about the fact that they had classes to get ready for and a son to deal with who was probably already awake and wondering why the heck he was being left in his bed when he'd much rather have been moving about and getting into things he wasn't supposed to.

Naturally Scorpius was the first one to regain his head enough to remember the things they needed to be doing and so with much reluctance he broke off the kiss, tilting his head back and out of the other man's reach. "We need to get up." He murmured sleepily as he sat up, his eyes soft and warm.

"Darling wife, I was just pressed up against you for quite a while and I can say without hesitation that getting up is not something either of us has any problem doing."

Cheeks flushing with color Scorpius acted on instinct, grabbing his pillow and bashing the smirking Gryffindor in the head with it.

Laughing in surprised delight Albus grabbed the man's remaining pillow and the fight was on, the Gryffindor deliberately using half his strength while taking no offense to the fact that Scorpius was obviously out to smack his as hard as he could. This could be cause for concern and something to think about later, Albus mused ruefully, since there was always the possibility that it wouldn't be a pillow Scorpius hit him with the next time he annoyed the blonde, but for now he was just happy to see the emotion he elicited in his Slytherin and play along.

Well aware that he was being humored Scorpius just went with it anyway, angling his body this way and that as he tried to level a decent hit or two.

"Ready to give in, Malfoy?"

"You wish."

And that determination led to the destruction of the pillow Scorpius wielded and the release of its contents into the immediate area around them.

Both men immediately choked as feathers suddenly exploded in their faces, the two stunned speechless as they watched the feathers settle all around them and on each other.

Recovering from the shock first Albus immediately burst into hysterical laughter, the whole thing too funny for words. The fact that he probably looked even more ridiculous than his boyfriend occurred to the Gryffindor, but Albus had been experimented on too many times as a kid to mind being made to look like an idiot.

Lips twitching as well Scorpius shook his head over the whole thing, feathers dislodging and floating down onto the bed at the gesture. And that had the Slytherin's control cracking enough that he was soon laughing hard too, his arms wrapped around his waist for support as his whole chest heaved with merriment.

Before long the two were lying on the bed despite the feathers, laughing their fool heads off with their heads turned towards each other so that they could enjoy each other's enjoyment of the moment.

"MUUUUUUMMMMMMMMY! DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The two sitting up at the loud calls Scorpius looked over at Albus with a large gleam in his eyes this time. "Did he just call me Da?"

Albus grumbled good naturedly. "Oh that just figures."

Grinning widely since he'd obviously won the distinction of being the 'father' in their family, Scorpius scooted out of bed and headed towards Phoenix's room, trailing feathers as he went. Letting himself into his son's room the Slytherin wasn't the least surprised to see the little boy was up and literally bouncing with impatience, the green eyes going huge when the baby caught sight of his da and the feathers that clung to various parts of his parent's body. The baby's enjoyment and laughter over the look doubled when his mummy came into the room too.

Studying Scorpius Albus kept picking feathers out of his hair and shoving them into his pajama pocket with a resigned humor. "I look worse than you, right?"

Scorpius lifted Phoenix out of his bed and set him down to the floor before turning around to take stock of his own appearance, comparing it to the Gryffindor's. "You're a lot worse, yes."

"Lovely."

Both men grinning like fools at each other, they once again forgot about Phoenix and moved in closer to survey the damage and lend a hand, reaching out to remove the feathers that clung to their pajamas and their hair. They were both a mess, and intelligent enough to know that they were going to be finding feathers on their person and in their bedroom for the rest of the day unless they brought magic into the equation. They could only imagine what the reaction would be of the house elf assigned to clean their rooms would be when he or she got a load of the mess they'd made.

"Well at least I can tell everyone that this was completely your fault." Albus announced with a smirk, flicking the blonde's nose with one of the feathers he'd just dislodged from the blonde's top.

"Typical Gryffindor, blaming it all on me."

"You started it. Of course I had to finish it."

Scorpius rolled his eyes over that one. "Seeing as you look more like a chicken than I do, I'd say I not only finished it, but won."

Ignoring his parents' good-natured bickering Phoenix got busy collecting the feathers that littered his bedroom floor, pressing them up against his chest so that he would look just like his parents.

He wanted to be a birdie too.

)

Later that day Lily and Gabrielle walked down the hallway with Phoenix between them, the boy bubbling away as he looked around him with his usual rapt interest, content for the moment to let the two girls slow him down. The girls had been discussing Fred and his weird inventions when they became aware of the fact that their shoes were making squishy sounds due to the water that was all over the floor. Since they were in the vicinity of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom neither was surprised, though they both moved a little farther away from Phoenix since the boy was delighted by the water and was hopping instead of walking so that the water would fly up a little. They intended to keep walking past the flooded lavatory, but as soon as they were near the door Phoenix stopped what he was doing, cocked his head thoughtfully, and then tugged for them to follow him into the girls' bathroom.

Neither girl was particularly eager to see the infamous Muggleborn ghost, but Phoenix was insistent and they really didn't have anywhere they had to be just yet. Plus how bad could Myrtle be around Phoenix anyway? He was infectious in the happy department after all.

So they headed in, Lily picking Phoenix up since the water was bad the closer they got to the source of the loud crying they could now hear echoing off the stone walls.

They were almost at Myrtle's stall when the ghost poked her head out through the door, staring at them suspiciously for a moment before her face cleared up a little, having spotted the waving toddler in Lily's arms.

Sniffling, the former Ravenclaw brushed at her robes and then floated over to stand in front of Lily. "Why are you lot here?" Not that she minded visitors, but she preferred the male variety and the other two girls were far too pretty for her liking.

"Phoenix wanted to come and see you so we brought him." Lily informed her, well aware of the fact that the boy crazy girl wasn't thrilled to have visitors when they were girls. "And we're sorry you're having a bad day." She added, not wanting the room to become any more flooded then it already was. "It must be really tough being a ghost." Especially one that haunted a toilet, she silently added.

Making a sound of dismissive agreement Myrtle reached out to lightly press her pale fingers against the boy's head, surprised by the feather that was somehow attached to the blonde strands. "Why does he have a feather in his hair? Are you making fun of him for your own amusement?" The girl's tone took on a warning edge.

"No. The boys had a little accident with a goose pillow this morning and Phoenix thought the two of them were wearing feathers on purpose. When they tried to remove the feathers my darling nephew didn't like it so they attached a feather to his hair for him to play with."

"Oh."

"Pretty." Phoenix informed her, fiddling with the feather in question with obvious pleasure.

"So why did you flood this place this time?" Gabrielle wanted to know, crossing her arms in front of her as she tried not to think about how gross it was.

Her face immediately going back to its typical put upon expression Myrtle's voice had a hint of whine now as she launched into her usual complaints. "Some girls were saying mean things about me. They don't understand how horrible it is, to be trapped here the way I am. Picking on me, calling me Moaning Myrtle."

"Myrtle was an unfortunately name choice on your parents' part." Lily agreed, very thankful that her parents had decided to use their children to immortalize those that had heavily impacted their lives.

"It was a family name." She huffed, her already chubby cheeks puffing out that much more as she glared at Lily. "Though when I died I was the last, the tradition cruelly cut off because of that…He Who Should Not Be Named jerk."

Gabrielle thought about pointing out that the discontinuation of that name was sort of the silver lining to the whole thing, but even she wasn't that mean. But still. "I don't get why you decided to haunt this place in the first place. I mean I get that you probably wanted to haunt the bitches that made your life here hell, but seriously, wasn't that just giving them what they wanted? You miserable for all eternity? I mean if you really wanted to get them back you should have just gone into the light or whatever, so they would have been left feeling guilty forever for inadvertedly causing your death."

"Oh I made them sorry. You have no idea what dreadful things I did to them before they got restraining orders."

Given how annoying the girl was without trying Gabrielle could totally believe that Myrtle had been truly dreadful to her former tormentors after she'd passed away. "But at the end of the day they went on with their lives while you're stuck haunting a toilet in a school full of people who are just as judgmental and cruel as the kids you went to school with. How is that justice?"

"She does have a point." Lily stated as she nodded her head in complete agreement. "Plus I'm sure your family really misses you." She didn't mention friends since she wasn't entirely sure the girl had had any, especially if her personality had always been like this. Myrtle was not an easy person to get along with when she was on her best behavior, much less when she was feeling sorry for herself which was often.

"How would girls as beautiful as you two understand what it was like!" Myrtle raged, glaring at the both of them. "You have friends and boys like you and DON'T HAVE STUPID GLASSES!"

While Gabrielle reeled from the fact that she'd just been called beautiful and Lily lightly whacked her ear with her free hand to try and get her hearing back Phoenix leaned forward with his hands outstretched, palms forward.

"What do you want?" The ghost demanded to know, sticking her face up in Phoenix's as she forgot about her reaction to the boy, too upset to think straight.

Solemnly Phoenix placed his hands on her face.

Eyes widening Myrtle stared into Phoenix's face unseeing, her mind exploding with memories that had faded with the passing of time. The good memories, the ones pushed aside when she'd allowed all her past anger and hurts to consume her. She could remember perfectly the sound of her father's voice when he'd read to her every night before she'd gone to bed as a child, how much her mother had loved her hair and how she'd kept it long for her, even though she'd wanted to cut it. She remembered eating ice lollies with her best friend Cynthia Blunt on her back porch, and staying up all night with her talking about their favorite American movie stars.

She remembered what it was to be happy and loved.

Her face a mask of longing and remorse Myrtle cried without tears. "I miss them." She whispered, her voice gaining strength as she realized just how right Gabrielle had been with her earlier statements. "I miss them so much. I wish I hadn't died, that I hadn't let what Olive said about me upset me so. Why did I think that staying here was better? I want my mummy and daddy! I want to go home and never come back here again. I don't want to be alone anymore, I don't care about the mean people or making them pay anymore. I just want to go home!"

Both girls felt utterly horrible for the ghost now and simultaneously reached out and placed a hand on Myrtle's shoulders, grinching their teeth against the terrible coldness as their hands sunk through the icy chill that made up the Ravenclaw's body now as they offered up what little comfort they could.

Myrtle stared at them in shock for several heartbeats, and then she did something neither girl could ever remember seeing her do in all the years they'd attended Hogwarts.

The girl truly, from the heart, smiled.

"Thank you. I understand now."

Suddenly the coldness that was characteristic of all ghosts became pleasant warmth against Lily and Gabrielle's fingers, and as the three watched Myrtle faded from their sight, the Ravenclaw waving good bye with Phoenix returning the gesture.

The two girls stood there for a good couple minutes without speaking, neither a hundred percent sure what had just happened.

"Elle…did we just help exorcise Myrtle?"

Very slowly Gabrielle nodded her head, her gaze turning downward to stare at Phoenix, wondering just what else the little boy was capable of.

"Wow." Lily paused and thought about this for a few more heartbeats before breaking into a huge grin. "We're female Ghostbusters!"

And humming the 80s Muggle theme song Lily grabbed her friend's hand and pulled her along with her as she headed out of the room, eager to talk to the ghosts and find out if Myrtle really was up in heaven now instead of haunting another area of the castle.


	40. Bonding Closer

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy.

40th chapter…wow…so yeah, here's hoping you like the present for sticking around this long heh.

Bonding Closer

The girls ran into Nearly Headless Nick on their way to meet up with Phoenix's parents, so they charged the Gryffindor ghost with trying to track down Myrtle in case the girl had just grown tired of their company or had decided to mess with their heads by making her think she was gone for good. With the ghost's promise that he would get back to them immediately once he'd made a thorough sweep of the castle the girls left the search in his ghostly hands and instead hurried off to meet up with the boys so they could inform them that their precocious son had quite possibly sent Myrtle to heaven.

Both Albus and Scorpius were stunned when the girls told them what had happened, the Gryffindor's relatives and friends equally so as they speculated over whether the girls were right in their interpretation of what had happened.

"Well it does make sense that she'd be the easiest ghost to exorcise in the school." Hugo pointed out in a logical tone of voice. "I mean she's been here for the shortest amount of time and her reason for being here is well known and something that theoretically wouldn't be as hard to overcome as what the others have to deal with."

"Do you suppose he'd be able to help the other ones though?" Magda wanted to know. "I mean even the Grey Lady or the Baron?"

"Not likely." Lily snorted at the idea. "He's never going to pass on unless she forgives him for stabbing her. That's about as likely to happen as the world starting to spin in the opposite direction. She can't find it in herself to forgive herself, much less him. And seriously, who hasn't figured out how much she likes the idea of him being stuck here and dragging those chains around."

"Hell hath no fury like a woman's wrath." Davey drawled out, the men all nodded in unison while the women silently acknowledge the validity of that statement.

In fact, many of the boys thought, they had some prime examples of volatile women around them.

Lily interrupted their thoughts as to the dangers the women posed. "That reminds me of something that always confused me." She began. "Why is Sir Nicholas still here? Or just here period. I mean I know he said it was because he feared death but he was a wizard, he had to know there was life afterwards and that we all have souls because he would have seen ghosts. And can't be that he's afraid of divine punishment, the reason he got sorta beheaded was a stupid one. "

"True, but while there is a lot of evidence to prove that there is an afterlife no one can say for sure what form it takes." Rosie pointed out, having given this some thought. "Maybe there were things he wanted to still experience in this world, and he feared that he wouldn't be able to once he crossed over?"

"But what would he want to experience so badly?" Albus wondered aloud. "I mean they can't do any of the things I would personally miss being able to do if I was dying."

Holding Phoenix gently in his arms Scorpius suggested the one answer that made complete sense to him. "Maybe he was leaving someone behind and was worried about what would become of them. I mean he was middle aged back then. He would have had a family, he might even have been married with children."

None of them had really thought about the families of the ghosts they knew, and did so now, suddenly seeing the existence of the ghosts in their present forms as that much more wretched and pitiable.

"Do you think other ghosts will come and want Phoenix to try and exorcise them too?" Albus couldn't imagine Hogwarts without its house ghosts, but at the same time it would be horribly wrong for anyone to deny the spirits the chance to pass on and join their families if that was what they wanted. Though he was pretty sure his sister was right to think that the Ravenclaw and Slytherin ghosts weren't going anywhere anytime soon. They kept each other here.

They all agreed that it was possible Phoenix was going to become of great interest to the ghost population, with Rosie and Hugo volunteering to look into putting shields around the boys' rooms so that they wouldn't have any unexpected ghostly visitors there.

But one thing was sure, as they found out a couple hours later, and that was the fact that Myrtle had indeed, after almost a century of haunting Hogwarts, passed on to the other side.

)

Playing peek-a-boo with Phoenix that night Albus grinned at the simple joy the boy got from the activity. It really was too cute for words sometimes. It was also sad really, how much money some parents shelled out every year to entertain their kids when more often than not it was the simple things the kids loved and kept up the longest. Like the boxes some of those presents had come in. He could recall how he and his siblings had spent hours using their imaginations to turn furniture boxes their father had gotten for them into houses and space ships and Hogwarts. Man…he sorta wanted to get a big box now and introduce Phoenix to the wonders that could be found inside one.

He'd see about getting some when he and Scorpius went to Hogsmeade on the weekend he decided.

Looking over when Scorpius rejoined them carrying a basket Albus raised an eyebrow, seeing that it appeared to be filled with odds and ends, many of them Phoenix's. "What's all that for?"

"I figured we should use those flash cards your aunt sent us and that visuals would help." Scorpius answered as he took a seat beside Albus, pulling out the flash cards in question.

While it didn't surprise him that his Aunt Hermione had sent the cards in the first place Albus was surprised that they were actually going to use them. "Isn't he a little young for those?"

"Does he strike you as someone who's learning at a typical rate?" Scorpius countered with a knowing look in his eyes. "And according to the books I've read on the subject toddlers can retain a lot more than we sometimes give them credit for. It can't hurt to try, can it?"

"All right, I'm game."

"Good, we can go back and forth then." Setting the cards down between them so that they could easily reach them Scorpius picked up the first card and then picked up the first item on top of the basket, leaning forward to show both of them to Phoenix. "Phoenix, this is an apple. The majority of the people in this world like to eat them. They're very good for you. Apple started with the letter 'A'. This is what an 'A' looks like."

Studying the card without a whole lot of interest Phoenix took the apple when it was handed to him, passing it back and forth between his hands as he treated it like a ball.

Pretty sure that Phoenix couldn't be less interested in learning his letters, but willing to keep it up for Scorpius's sake, Albus picked up the next flash card and then grabbed a corresponding item from the basket, holding out both towards Phoenix.

He never got to tell their son that 'B' was for bear though because Phoenix took one look at what his mummy had in his hand and snapped into action, throwing the apple and then fast crawling the short space between them so that he could snatch his bear hat from his mummy, clutching it to his chest as he loudly proclaimed that it was 'MINE!'.

Not about to argue Albus was more concerned about the fact that Scorpius had just had an apple chucked at him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Rolling the shoulder the apple had clipped during its flight, Scorpius was grateful the boy wasn't taller or the piece of fruit would have possibly hit higher. Ruefully looking down at their son, who was in the process of putting on the hat they'd already had to enlarge once on his head, the blonde had to admit he wasn't looking forward to the day when Phoenix was too big to want to wear it.

Even if it meant apples would no longer be thrown at him.

Doing some head shaking of his own Albus picked up the next flash card and held it out to Phoenix. "'C' is for concussion, which is what you almost gave your da. That is not a good thing, believe me. I've had them. So no more throwing apples at people, okay?"

While Phoenix considered this Scorpius laughed, looking down at his basket of visuals. "Well that fits, though actually the bear hat was supposed to be 'H' for hat, not 'B' for bear."

"The results would have been the same." Albus pointed out, grinning as another thought occurred to him. "And then 'I' could be for injury."

Still chuckling Scorpius inclined his head in agreement. "And then 'J' could be for the joke you'd tell to make me feel better while my head was pounding from the concussion. I've never had one, but it sounds dreadful."

"And 'K' for the kiss to make it all better." The Gryffindor murmured as he shifted closer to do precisely that, Scorpius more than happy to demonstrate what 'K' stood for with Albus.

Not wanting to be left out Phoenix crawled into his da's lap and snuggled there, pleased when they stopped kissing long enough to each give him a kiss on top of his head before going back to what they were doing.

He liked the letter 'K', Phoenix decided, leaning forward to grab the flash cards to look at them and the pictures on them.

)

Stretched out on his bed Albus waited for the Slytherin to come out of the shower. Phoenix was tucked into bed for the night and they'd gotten through all the flash cards without any more injuries. The boy had been more than a little possessive when he'd found out that his phoenix doll was going to be used as 'S' for stuffed animal though. Thankfully, despite the fact that 'R' had been a ruler, Phoenix had just tossed it to the side instead of chucking it before he stretched out his hands to demand he be given the stuffed animal so that it could join the small pile of other items that belonged to him that he didn't care to have used without his permission.

It was a good thing the boy was an only child at the moment.

Though if things worked out, well then he and Scorpius were going to have to adopt to give the kid some siblings, Albus mused to himself as he stared up at his ceiling. From the bits and pieces he'd picked up from various talks with Scorpius he'd got the distinct impression that being an only child was as bad as he'd always thought it had to be. So a sibling was a must, maybe a little girl this time? And he was so getting ahead of himself that it wasn't even funny in a stupid way. He kept forgetting how old he and Scorpius were, the fact that they still had a lot to learn as parents, especially since they were getting so much help from others as it was. Plus he and Scorpius hadn't been together as a couple for long at all, so thinking about bringing another kid to the mix was nuts.

But Phoenix would eventually need a sibling. He stood by that.

It spoke to how serious he was about the other man though, that he would think that in the future they might have another kid together. He'd never planned his life that far into the future with anyone else. Though he'd never had a kid with anyone before, so maybe that discounted that.

Albus was still mentally debating when he heard the sound of the door being opened, sitting up to watch Scorpius walk into the room in his pajamas. Obviously the blonde had forgotten to brush his hair down after vigorously towelling it off, because it was spiky and sticking out all over the place.

Just the way he liked it best. "Come here a sec."

Walking over Scorpius gave a muffled yelp when he took the offered hand, the Gryffindor using it to pull him onto the bed beside him.

Amused by the mix of pleasure and embarrassment flashing across his boyfriend's face Albus smiled down at the blonde who was sprawled out beside him. "So was there a bruise?" He asked, pointing towards the shoulder the apple had hit.

"Just a faint discoloration, no worries."

"Let's see then." Unable not to tease the man further Albus undid the buttons of the man's top so that he could push the material away so that he could see for himself. The bruise was all but none existent, but the Gryffindor lowered his head to place a kiss on it anyway, then placed similar kisses up the man's shoulder, then neck, and finally placed his lips against Scorpius's for what was supposed to be another quick, teasing kiss.

But Scorpius's arms came around him to pull him closer and Albus soon found himself straddling the blonde as the kiss deepened to the point where teenage hormones started to take control and made both of them forget themselves. Tongues got involved of their own volition it seemed, and before either knew exactly what had hit them Albus was pulling away to do away with his shirt with Scorpius help, the blonde's hands roving over the Gryffindor's shoulders and back before the article of clothing had even hit the floor. And those hands kept moving until Albus turned his attention to kissing his way down the Slytherin's chest, Scorpius's fingers halting and then digging in on a shocked gasp at the first brush of the other man's lips over one of his nipples.

Grinning wolfishly against the man's skin Albus teased the areola and darkened nub with his tongue and teeth, deliberately drawing it out as the Slytherin squirmed like crazy beneath him while making these incredibly erotic sounds in the back of his throat. Scorpius was going to be a moaner, he could feel it.

And he couldn't wait to hear it.

Too caught up in what the man was doing to be embarrassed Scorpius gripped the Gryffindor's head in both his hands, not willing to risk the man stopping what he was doing. His imagination hadn't been close to understanding how good this would feel and he wanted more. So much more until he couldn't take any more.

The amount he could take proved to be a lot shorter than Scorpius would have liked though when he became aware of the fact that he was going to have to ask the other man to stop or he was going to embarrass himself. His body wasn't used to this, was overstimulated, and he'd wanted this for so long that his control had gone out the window as soon as Albus had straddled him.

Struggling to get air into his lungs Scorpius gasped out his request for the other man to stop touching him.

Surprised by the request, especially since he could tell how much his boyfriend wanted him, Albus gave the nipple he'd been playing with one last stroke of his tongue before looking up the length of the other man's body with an appreciative, questioning look in his eyes. "Why?"

Conscious enough of the situation now to blush like crazy, Scorpius stumbled and stammered out the fact that he was going to come if Albus didn't stop what he was doing.

"That's sort of the-oh hell." Belated recalling the fact that while he had some experience with girls, Scorpius was unquestionably his first guy, Albus winced. "Crap, you've got a point." And knowing Scorpius well enough to know the blonde could misunderstand his words the Gryffindor was blunt. "I don't know how to take you without hurting you."

"I never figured I had to learn how that worked either." Scorpius admitted in a small voice, his mind reeling from the point blank confirmation that the man wanted to sleep with him. He'd never thought Albus would want to be like this with him, and even if he'd been ready to settle for someone else no one had ever shown him interest except Gabrielle.

Moving back up the man's body Albus groaned and collapsed with his head pillowed on Scorpius's shoulder, his frustration plain.

Understanding the sentiment completely Scorpius tried to be mature about it, even as all the voices in his head screamed for something to be done to ease the unbearable ache between his legs. "Looks like we both need cold showers, huh?"

The comment had a thought entering Albus's mind, rapidly followed by more until they came together nicely. Sitting back up the Gryffindor's eyes were bright with lust and determination as he stared into Scorpius's. "Trust me?"

From the heart Scorpius nodded, knowing he could.

Albus smiled. "Good. Then just follow my lead." And knowing how much this was going to embarrass the Slytherin Albus braced himself on one hand so that he could kiss the blonde while his other hand slid between them and under the man's pajama bottoms so that he could take Scorpius's erection into his hand.

Jerking in shock at the action Scorpius words of surprise were lost inside his boyfriend's mouth, the Slytherin's mind slow to process what the other man was doing to him, what Albus was suggesting they do to each other. And then Albus broke off the kiss just long enough to ask in a voice tinged with need for him to touch him too, Scorpius was not about to deny him.

So his pale, shaking hand slid between them as well, sliding under the soft cotton to touch and stroke, movements shy and hesitant at first before gaining confidence as the Gryffindor murmured encouragement and his pleasure.

Unable to maintain Scorpius came first, Albus's soft words and touches soothing him through it while the blonde shuddered under him. And when Scorpius recovered enough to bury his face again Albus's shoulder, fingers going back to pleasuring him, Albus closed his eyes and made his thanks known as well, deliberately murmuring the man's name over and over again until he came too.


	41. Reacting to the Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy this latest chapter.

Reacting to the Bond

Scorpius slowly drifted awake, simultaneously becoming aware of the weight on his chest and the scent of Albus teasing his nose. Eyes flittering open Scorpius looked down, eyes slowly opening to take in the fact that he was being used as a pillow and that Albus was stretched out on his side and pressed up against him, the man's dark head resting comfortably on his shoulder. And remembering how they'd come to be in the same bed together Scorpius could all but feel his brain threat to combust as he remembered what they'd done together the night before.

Holy shit, holy shit, HOLY SHIT!

"I can all but hear your mind overloading."

As Scorpius watched the Gryffindor craned his neck up to meet his gaze, it obvious that the man had been awake for a while and had simply chosen to remain where he was. "Morning."

Knowing he was blushing like crazy Scorpius croaked out the greeting as well.

Loving the reaction Albus shifted up then, bracing himself up on his hands as he pressed his lips against Scorpius's in a thorough but sweet kiss before drawing back with a wide grin on his face. "I think I rather like waking up in bed with you, especially since you make such a great pillow."

"Glad to be of use." Was the Slytherin's weak, flustered reply.

His expression taking on a more thoughtful look, Albus's eyes turned serious. "I don't have any close friends who are gay, and it would probably be awkward as hell for me to ask any of the others here just out of blue about how men have sex together. The only thing I can think of is that I could ask Hugo to get a book on it from the Muggle World for us. There isn't a topic in the world that doesn't interest him so no one would think twice about it. He wouldn't ask questions or tease us about it either. What do you think?"

"They…they have books on that sort of thing?" He couldn't imagine such a thing.

"Muggles love to create self help books, and their media is big on sex and selling it." Albus explained, glad for that at the moment. "There will be loads of books to choose from, no doubt. I'd just go and buy them myself, but I won't be back in London until Christmas and I doubt very much you or I can wait till then. I'd be offended if you could." He winked, hoping the tease would help make the other man comfortable with the conversation's topic.

"You'd think we could figure it out." Scorpius muttered, mortified at the idea of reading such a book, especially knowing that Hugo would know about it. The boy wasn't a gossip…but still.

Having expected that response Albus figured some imagery was needed. "We could try…but do you really want to risk me damaging your ass? Cause personally, as much as I want to get you naked right now, I'd rather it not be a one time deal due to the fact that the first time was so horrible you say to hell with the whole thing."

Scorpius opened and closed his mouth, then opened it again to admit that the man had a valid point.

"Good." Grinning again Albus gave Scorpius another kiss. "I'm really starting to like your ass, I'd hate for anything to happen to it."

The sound of the door being pushed open had both men automatically turning their heads towards the doorway, both shifting to a sitting position as they gaped at the sight of their son running over to the side of the bed they currently shared, jumping up and down as he babbled away without either of them being able to understand a word he was saying.

"How the heck did he get out of his bed?" Albus wanted to know, leaning down to pick up the boy and lift him onto his bed. "And how did you get out of your room, Buddy?"

Instead of answering the boy started jumping/crawling all over the bed, babbling away as he exuberantly expressed his happy glee with great animation.

"It's like he's on Puckerberry." Albus murmured to himself, shaking his head over the boy's extreme hyperness.

"On what?"

"It was this ice cream like thing my Uncle George got his hands on one time when I was a kid. He brought it to a family get together and the kids that had some…they went on the mother of all sugar highs and scared the hell out of the rest of us. I only ate chocolate ice cream in those days so I was fine, not so my siblings. Anyway, the adults basically shepherded them outside and just turned them loose to run around like crazy people until the sugar wore off and they crashed. Needless to say Puckerberry was officially banned from family gatherings after that, and what Uncle George had left was destroyed by Aunt Angelina for the sake of all mankind."

Watching Phoenix Scorpius could see why. And he could also think of a reason why their son could be in such a good mood without the excuse of sugar. "Do you think it might be because…because of what we...uhm…what we did last night?"

"Uh oh. Crap." Remembering well how happy Phoenix had gotten after he and Scorpius had done some serious snogging before Albus saw them being run ragged quite thoroughly in the near future. "Well…ah…if that's the case…he got used to us snogging so he didn't go nuts every time. Hopefully it will be the same with the…other stuff?"

Sighing in resignation Scorpius was too busy imaging the next few hours to get giddy at the suggestion that they were going to be doing a lot of what they'd done the night before in the days to come. "How bad is he going to be when we actually have sex though?"

"Let's not think about that."

"Too late."

"Is it as bad in your mind as your voice suggests?"

"Worse."

"Figures."

)

For the sake of everyone the boys opted not to bring Phoenix to the Great Hall for breakfast, knowing that not only would he not be able to stay in his seat but that he'd prove to be a major distraction for everyone. So instead Scorpius kept an eye on their very hyper son while Albus went to the kitchen and asked the always happy to help elves if they wouldn't mind him snitching some cereal or fruit for their breakfast instead. Needless to say he was weighed down with two heaping breakfast plates when they finally let him leave, the Gryffindor very carefully balancing one in each hand.

Thankfully he got both plates back to their rooms without spilling any and he and Scorpius had sat down to eat their breakfast while their son ran around their parlor like a maniac when they heard their door being knocked on.

"Crap, we forgot to send a message to the girls." Getting up from his seat Albus walked over to get the door, opening it with an apologetic smile that would hopefully work on his sister. It went without saying that it wouldn't work on Gabrielle. "Hey, you two. We actually won't be coming to breakfast today so you guys can head to the Great Hall without us."

Gabrielle's eyes narrowed suspiciously as she demanded to know why they weren't coming.

Figuring a visual would work best Albus motioned them to come in and see for themselves.

Both girls came perilously close to getting whiplash as they watched Phoenix run around the room, neither having the slightest clue what he was trying to say when he spotted them and came over to babble at them in excitement, waving his little hands in the air for emphasis.

"It's like he's on that Puckerberry stuff Uncle George got for us one time." Lily announced, remembering the dessert fondly. She'd been a very bitter five year old when she'd been informed she was never allowed to have the stuff again.

"That's what I said."

Shaking her head over the whole thing Gabrielle didn't even want to think about what the boys had been up to to make Phoenix that happy. Instead she pointed out that she and Lily should be getting to breakfast or they were going to be late.

The girls made their goodbyes then, Lily promising to explain to the others why they weren't coming to breakfast since everyone would ask anyway.

And not being an idiot Lily waited until she and Gabrielle were on their way to the Great Hall before she asked her friend if she was okay.

Instinctively understanding what she was being asked Gabrielle nodded her head. "Yeah. It helps actually, that they're together now. I mean watching him suffer because your brother never looked his way just made the whole situation that much worse. At least now he's happy and I can accept that there's no chance things are ever going to change in my favor. It stings a little, but I'm okay."

"Good." And now that that was confirmed Lily grinned. "So what do you figure they were up to that got Phoenix so hyped up? I mean Scorpius wouldn't have looked so comfortable sitting on that chair if they'd had sex last night."

Opening her mouth to defend her best friend Gabrielle ruefully closed it. The girl was right after all. When the two did eventually have sex it really did go without saying that Albus would take the top.

And since she really didn't need those images in her head the Slytherin opted to change the subject, Lily being nice enough to let her.

She could always discuss it with Rosie and Hugo later after all.

)

Walking together later on in the day Gabrielle and Scorpius discussed the class they'd just left, both agreeing that the level of homework they'd just had heaped on their shoulders was cruel and unusual punishment they definitely didn't deserve. To say neither was looking forward to the night ahead was a massive understatement, with Scorpius thinking that this would be one of the cases where Albus taking care of Phoenix so he could work would be a good thing, but if the boy was still on a love high there wasn't a chance in hell that was happening. It wouldn't be fair, not to mention the fact that keeping their son out of things when he was like this was too big a task for one person.

Thanks sadistic teacher, he thought darkly, thinking that she should have been a Slytherin.

Gabrielle heard it first, the music that distracted her in mid rant as she cocked her head to the side to try and figure out where it was coming from.

Catching it too Scorpius's brows furrowed as he tried to place the song but failed. It made him think Latin music though, with its hot, snappy beat and rhythm. "Do you recognize it?"

"No."

Their shared curiosity getting the better of them the two Slytherins followed their ears, surprised to find themselves approaching a small group of people that included Albus, Lily, and Phoenix, as well as some other people that one normally saw around the Gryffindors at any given time. The music was coming from Albus's best friend Davey, who was playing his guitar with noticeable skill.

"Is Phoenix having some sort of seizure?" Gabrielle hissed, so horrified by the idea that she froze where she was as she watched the little boy twitch through a space between two bodies that made up the outer circle of the group.

"Actually I think he's trying to dance."

"Oh. Ouch. Must be his Potter genes." She'd never seen Albus dance before, but she had seen Scorpius many times and so she could say without question that Phoenix did not take after her best friend when it came to his dance moves. Though she supposed given his age he could still improve with time and better body coordination.

"Davey can certainly play though." Scorpius pointed out, cutting off that line of conversation quickly. "It's a pity he seems to constantly end up in horrible bands who don't go anywhere."

"Well that's a Gryffindor for you. They constantly join forces with people they shouldn't."

A smile teased Scorpius lips as he pointed out that they were both routinely hanging out with Gryffindors now.

Frowning, Gabrielle hated to admit that he was right, but he was. Lily seemed to be determined to make friends with her and Albus was the same, though a lot less pushy about it. Then there was Fred, who she tried and constantly failed to forget about.

Yes, she was indeed keeping some very odd company recently.

And couldn't quite bring herself to regret that fact.

Noting that Gabrielle was swaying slightly to the beat, no surprise, Scorpius smiled, doubting that she was even aware of it. She loved to dance and she was bloody good at it if he did say so himself. They'd been the best dancers in the classes they'd been forced by their parents to take at Madame Hazelett's Finishing School for Young Witches and Wizards. It had been a long time since they'd done so, he realized, trying to remember the last time they'd danced together.

"What are you thinking about so hard?" Gabrielle asked as she noticed the look in his eye, trying to distract herself from the very catchy tune the Muggleborn was now playing. It was taking considerable concentration on her part not to tap her foot to the beat.

"Trying to remember when we danced together last. I think it was at your cousin's wedding two years ago." And thinking that was just too long, and still in a really good mood after what had happened the night before, Scorpius set down his book bag and turning bowed to his very surprised best friend. "May I have this dance?"

Gabrielle gaped at him. "Are you crazy?"

"What, have you forgotten how?" Scorpius asked her innocently.

"You've been spending way too much time around Potter." Was Gabrielle's firm opinion on the matter.

He probably had, it went without saying that he would have never proposed such a thing even half a year ago. But he was in the mood to celebrate, to make her happy, and she had been his dance partner since they were old enough to receive instruction.

But seeing that she was uncomfortable with the idea Scorpius was going to drop it until a voice behind them inquired as to whether she was refusing the request because she didn't like to dance or because she was embarrassed to do so where others would see her.

Scorpius was very glad that the speaker was Hugo Weasley since anyone else would have ended up a smoldering heap of ash on the ground for asking her that. Trying to be mad at Hugo was a fruitless endeavor, and that aside his curiosity was legendary. He loved to ask questions.

"I'm not embarrassed." Gabrielle informed him, biting back her natural response so that he wouldn't show her his also legendary kicked puppy eyes. It was whispered, in the Slytherin dormitories, that Hugo Weasley's puppy look was so powerful it could have made even the Dark Lord feel a twinge of conscience before he killed him.

"I can't dance." Hugo informed her, his eyes not betraying for a moment whether he was aware he'd touched a nerve or not. "My feet are too big. Well…that and I'm a klutz."

Looking down at the Gryffindor's feet both Slytherins silently agreed that it would indeed be difficult to dance properly with feet that big. The kid must have to specially order his shoes, they thought in sympathy.

"So can you dance, Elle?" Hugo asked, not about to let the topic drop until he had an answer.

Surprised to hear her nickname roll so easily off his tongue, was the whole family going to start thinking they could call her that just because she let Lily do it, Gabrielle once again couldn't bring herself to be mean as she shrugged off the question and casually confirmed that she could dance but hadn't in a while, which was true.

"She's a very good dancer." A new, male voice confirmed as he came up to stand beside Hugo. "She and Malfoy both."

Turning her head in surprise Gabrielle gave Flint a cool stare, glad to be faced with someone she had no problem being nasty to. "And just how would you know whether or not I can dance?"

"My sisters go to the finishing school you and he got roped into going to." Flint answered easily, hands in his pockets. "Mum figured out that sending us guys to the school was pointless, but the girls like it well enough. Apparently Madame Hazelett still considers you two the best dancers she's taught in the last couple decades. She talks about you guys a lot during the dance lessons. My sisters have even asked me about you."

Annoyed to find herself flattered by that Gabrielle just crossed her arms in front of her and refused to say anything at all since she couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't sound stupid.

"I'd like to see you dance." Hugo informed Gabrielle and Scorpius, both Slytherins immediately feeling both pressured to do so and ridiculously embarrassed to do so, especially now that Flint had made them out to be that good.

Flint grinned at them with a gleam in his eyes. "I dare you, Goyle."

Scorpius looked back and forth and two words came to mind.

Uh oh.

)

Note: The Puckerberry story is based on a true story. My parents got it for my little sister one time from Dairy Queen and she went nuts off the sugar content. It was so bad we had to let her out of the car when we reached our town, and she had to walk/run to the other side of town where our house was. Needless to say she remembers it fondly, but was forbidden from ever having it again.

My sister and Lily would get along fabulously.


	42. Dancing For The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading.

Note: I tried to write a good dance scene but it turns out I suck at it epically, hence this update taking so long and the dancing being only a small, not very descriptive part. Sorry, I did try.

Dancing For The Bond

Color flushing her cheeks Gabrielle glared at Flint as he smirked back at her so smugly, obviously thinking that he had her between a rock and a hard place. And dammit, he was right. On the one hand she could just refuse to dance but that would make it look like she was too afraid to dance in public and she'd rather go to her grave laughing than let people legitimately call her a coward. But on the other hand if she did dance it would be all over the school within the hour and she hated hearing people gossip about her which they would if she drew attention to herself. And she always heard it, people were never as quiet as they liked to believe they were in their stupid little brains when they made fun of others.

Unfortunately she just couldn't not accept a dare, it was just one of her many fatal flaws. It was one of the few things she had in common with her idiot brothers beside their shared last name. She just couldn't back down from a dare, especially when it was being issued by some smug ass who obviously thought he had her right where he wanted her and she knew he didn't.

She was a great dancer, dammit. She just didn't want to dance with her peers watching and criticizing her just to be mean or because she was a Slytherin.

"Double dare you."

"I hate you." Gabrielle hissed out of clenched teeth.

Not liking this situation one little bit Scorpius subtly put himself between the two, his stance slightly protective as he firmly informed Flint that Gabrielle didn't want to dance and that he should respect that and leave her alone.

Oh great, now she looked like the helpless little woman who needed a man to stand up and speak with her. Great, just great.

"I'll take your bet…." Gabrielle announced before either man could humiliate or annoy her further. "But only if the dance is the Morgenstern's version of 'We Are One'. You'll have to see if Potter's friend knows how to play it though, not to mention it requires two more people besides Scorpius and I."

Turning to look at her Scorpius had to admit that her demands were surprisingly well thought out given that she'd had very little time to think of a way out. The dance she'd named was an old dance and therefore not popular with their peers, odds were none of their classmates had heard of it, much less knew the steps. Not that it was difficult to learn or preform, but he and Gabrielle would have never heard of it in the first place if their dance instructor hadn't needed them to perform it at the last minute for a dance competition.

Their parents had not been pleased with the style of dancing and all dance lessons had ended after that competition.

"Given that Davey is a Muggleborn it isn't likely that he would know that particular dance." Hugo pointed out, highlighting another reason why Gabrielle had felt confident in agreeing to the bet on her terms.

"Well let's see if the same can be said about his girlfriend." Flint drawled out as he left them and made his way through the crowd to Magda, the girl's surprise written all over her face when the Slytherin leaned down to whisper in her ear, Davey fumbling the song he was playing as he glared at the man for daring to do so right in front of him.

"Did she just nod?" Gabrielle hissed in disbelief, looking over at Scorpius with an expression that begged him to tell her that her eyes had deceived her.

"She did. But even then we would need two more dancers, we're safe, Elle."

Or so the two Slytherins thought until the current song Davey was playing came to an end and Flint used the silence to whistle loudly for everyone's attention and then announced to them that if there was a girl in the crowd who knew how to dance to Morgenstern's version of 'We Are One', and was willing to do so in public, she'd be rewarded with the five galleons and the fact that Scorpius Malfoy and Gabrielle Goyle would have to dance it too.

The final nail on the coffin was driven home by a fifth year Hufflepuff who raised a hand and called out that she was willing to participate.

"Oh fuck." Scorpius whispered under his breath, only vaguely hearing Gabrielle curse very inventively behind him as people started moving to clear a space for the dancing to take place, loud chatter filling the air as speculations flew about what was to come.

Taking in the fact that what little color his man's face usually had was gone Albus figured that the dancing thing had not been his boyfriend's idea and that the Slytherin was in need of being rescued. Walking over to stand in front of Scorpius Albus thought the other man rather looked like he'd been on the receiving end of a body binding curse. "You don't have to dance if you don't want to, you know. I'll get you out of here."

"Yes I do." Was Scorpius's beyond miserable response. "If I don't I'll look like I'm running away."

Since Gabrielle's name had been mentioned too Albus gave her a questioning look, taking a step back when she gave him a death glare he'd done nothing to earn.

And seeing this Scorpius snapped out of his dread long enough to turn and glare at her, reminding her that she'd gotten them into this mess in the first place by picking the worst dance she could have possibly picked from their former repertoire.

"I was trying to pick the least known and performed of our repertoire!" She shot back, just the faintest hint of hysteria in her voice as she watched Flint motion for them to hurry up and get in the middle of the now mostly cleared space, everyone else lined up against the outer walls. "Dammit, I didn't actually think we were going to have to do this!"

"I could pretend to step on your foot and you could say you were too hurt to dance." Hugo offered gallantly, trying to make her feel better.

"Thanks for the thought." Sighing Gabrielle looked over at Scorpius, trying to ignore the fact that more and more people were crowding around having come over to see what was going on as they left their various classes. "Shall we?"

Since he'd suggested dancing in the first place Scorpius knew that as tempting as it was he couldn't continue to put the blame completely on her shoulders, which meant that fleeing wasn't an option even if his pride could have withstood the blow. They were stuck, there was no backing out now with their pride intact and they knew it.

Accepting their fate the two Slytherins walked over to join Flint and the Hufflepuff, the two taking some comfort from the fact that apparently the Quidditch player was going to be the second male in their quartet. Since he didn't seem the least unhappy to be in their present situation that comfort faded quickly.

"How do YOU even know this dance?" Gabrielle wanted to know as she and Scorpius got into position beside Flint and the other girl, whose name was Claire.

"Long story, maybe I'll tell you something." Was all Flint was willing to say on the matter as he rolled his shoulders in preparation for the short, physical workout. Dancing really wasn't his thing, but it was so going to be worth it.

The Hufflepuff, seeing that Magda was wrapping up her warm up as she prepared to play the actual song, focused on Gabrielle with a questioning look as she tried not to look nervous, feeling all the eyes that were currently on them. "I take it you'll be leading when it gets to that."

Her nod was curt and to the point, while Flint just grinned at Scorpius, who sighed in resignation.

)

"Okay, why would Gabrielle be leading?" Albus asked Hugo as he took Phoenix from his sister, settling his son on his hip as he turned his attention back to the 'dance floor' where the three Slytherins and lone Hufflepuff had paired off as expected. "I mean Scorpius is the guy after all. She's not that much bigger than he is." The girl hadn't suggested Gabrielle leading in a mean way, and that look Flint and Scorpius had shared….

"Oh, she meant when they switch partners." Hugo explained, knowing the history of this particular dance. "Halfway through the dance the girls will be dancing with each other and the men will do the same. They were just figuring out who would take the traditionally male role and who would be led. It makes sense that Scorpius and Claire would take the 'female' role when that happens because neither of them have the upper body strength that would be necessary to lift their partner."

Lily laughed in delight. "So Flint and Scorpius are going to be dancing together? Thank Merlin I have my camera with me!"

Opening his mouth to find out more about the dance Albus's words were cut off by the sound of Magda playing the introduction to the song, everyone going quiet as they watched the two couples begin to move with grace and fluidity across the school floor.

Albus didn't know a heck of a lot about traditional dancing other than the fact that he sucked at it, but as he watched he picked up on the fact that while there were a lot more dips and flourishes than he remembered, the dancing was similar to the formal style his mum had forced him to learn for Teddy's wedding. It was very proper, the Gryffindor mused, similar to what one expected their grandparents to dance like. Poor Scorpius, he was going to look ridiculous when he changed partners.

The first part of the dance had everyone appreciating the fact that the four were well matched and sure on their feet, but it wasn't until they started to notice that the men were looking at each other instead of their partners, and that the women were doing the same that interest started to be generated, especially as the rhythm started to heat up and become less refined. And then the pairs switched and the dance became a whole other story.

Whereas the former dancing between the heterosexual pairings had been fairly ordinary with an old school distance kept between the pairs that changed completely with the switching of partners. Now the dancing had a lot more in common with the tango then it did the waltz, and both pairs were showing a lot more attention to their partner and staying as close as possible as they moved to the sexy beat with flirty grace.

Not even glancing in the direction of the girls Albus's eyes were glued on his boyfriend and Flint, eyes narrowing to mere slits as he watched the way the Quidditch captain was putting his hands on HIS man with a familiarity that had him thinking he'd rather like to introduce them to a beater's bat.

"You might be interested in the history behind this dance." Hugo whispered in his cousin's ear, trying to distract the other man. He'd heard that Albus was very possessive of Scorpius and it seemed Lily hadn't been joking. "The dance was originally danced at weddings as a symbol of the change the couple would be going through, going from having their interactions policed by society to becoming married and thus being free to finally express their sexuality and desires for the other. The first half would be danced with a family member and then the new couple would be brought together for the last half. It was in the late seventeenth century that the change to same sex dancers in the second half was made in a protest against the homophobic laws in place at the time, with all the dancers who performed the new version professionally being incarcerated as a result, though not for long. Anyway, most people only dance the original version today but occasionally they dance this version just for the shock value or to remember those dancers who stood up and helped promote the changes that eventually happened to abolish the bad laws. Fascinating, huh, how something like dancing can be used as a protest against inequality."

"Yeah, he's really not listening to you." Lily murmured, not taking her eyes off the dancers, cheering with everyone else when Flint and Gabrielle both lifted their partners into the air and turned gracefully to the side, allowing said partner to slide down them having shown off their strength sufficiently.

Seeing that she was right Hugo reached out and patted his cousin sympathetically on the shoulder. "It will be over in a minute."

The look Albus aimed in the taller man's direction made it clear that wouldn't be soon enough.

)

Squirming while everyone around him clapped as the music and dancing came to a halt, Phoenix was quite pleased when his mummy put him down on his feet automatically, the little boy immediately off and running as soon as his feet touched the floor. Unable to hear his mummy ordering him to come back, not that that would have stopped him, Phoenix headed straight for his da, arms open wide as he told him how awesome the dance thingie had been.

Having let go of Flint as soon as the dance was over Scorpius saw his son coming and hunkered down to scoop Phoenix into his arms, unable not to smile as the boy babbled and gestured excitedly. He had no idea what his baby was saying of course, but he assumed he was being told how much he'd liked the music and dancing.

"Looks like he liked it." Flint commented in amusement, not the least upset about the fact that people all around them were rather loudly speculating as to his sexual orientation now and whether or not he and Malfoy were in the closet together. He didn't see being mistaken for gay as an insult, and if he were he could do worse than Malfoy.

Gabrielle moved in to poke Flint in the chest, the look in her eye suggesting she'd rather be sticking a dagger there. "You owe the Hufflepuff five galleons."

Flint turned his attention to the Hufflepuff in question. "Mind if I pay you at dinner? I'll wait by the main doors for you."

"That's fine." And not wanting to remain around three volatile Slytherins longer then she had to, even with Phoenix around, the Hufflepuff beat a hasty retreat to rejoin her friends who were waiting for her.

At her brother's side just in case he decided to do something stupid Lily grabbed Flint as soon as he was in reach and dragged him a small ways away, calling over for Magda to play something else because she wanted a turn dancing with the Slytherin.

"Bye bye, Finty." Phoenix waved as Funny One dragged his friend away, pleased to see the two of them together.

Not having missed the way Albus had been looking at Flint Scorpius subtly shifted so that he was in his boyfriend's way, just in case. "Did you want to stick around here or head back to our rooms with me? We should at least try to put Phoenix down for a nap, even if he is wide awake. Hanging out here is only going to make him more wired." Their son got high off people's good moods after all, and most were enjoying the music and the show so to speak.

"Yeah, lets head. I'll just go and grab my bag."

Hugo waited until Albus had disappeared into the crowd once more before sidling up to Scorpius to return the Slytherin's bag to him, leaning in to whisper in the blonde's ear that Albus had gotten rather jealous watching him dance with Flint and that it would be in everyone's best interest for him to reassure the man that he wasn't interested in the other Slytherin. It would save him a headache later, Hugo assured him.

Taking her own bag from the Gryffindor Gabrielle was curious as to what he'd just whispered in Scorpius's ear but decided not to ask. Instead she bid them both good bye and then headed off with a look on her face that made it clear no one in their right mind would get in her way.

Once she was out of sight Scorpius thanked Hugo for the advice and then started to make his way out of the crowd with Phoenix too so that he wouldn't get in anyone's way, quite surprised when a number of people moved to intercept him so that they could tell him how good his dancing had been. Flushing at the praise the Slytherin had no idea how adorable he looked then, cradling Phoenix against him while shyly thanking them for their compliments.

Shaking his head over the effect his boyfriend had on people without realizing it, Albus had to smile as he rejoined his family, placing a hand on the small of Scorpius's back as he made their excuses, explaining that they had to get Phoenix back to their rooms for the little boy's nap. Now that Flint wasn't touching his man his blood pressure seemed to be returning to normal which the Gryffindor took as a good sign that he was getting better at handling his jealousy.

When they were finally well away from the crowd they'd drawn Scorpius looked at Albus, trying to judge the man's mood now. He didn't seem upset or jealous. Phoenix looked more unhappy than his boyfriend did.

Annoyed to have been taken away from all the people and the music Phoenix pouted, his little arms crossed in front of him as he stuck his bottom lip out.

"Is it horrible that I'd rather have him cranky than scary hyper?" Albus asked, having noticed where Scorpius's gaze was directed.

"If it is I'm just as horrible." Scorpius assured him.


	43. Bonds Between Us

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the storyline. Thanks for reading.

Bonds Between Us

When they got back to their rooms Phoenix was still visibly pouting over being taken away from all the fun before he was ready, both boys feeling guilty since they were wrapped around their son's little fingers. So they got the record player going in the hopes that it would distract the little boy, both breathing sighs of relief when Phoenix's pout slowly disappeared, the boy soon on his feet and moving to the beat in his awkward, stiff version of dancing.

Remembering well Hugo's earlier warning slash suggestion Scorpius stayed seated on the floor beside Albus, leaning his head down so that he could rest it on his boyfriend's shoulder as he slipped his hand into the Gryffindor's.

Lips curving into a smile as he looked down as their joined hands Albus gave the pale fingers a gentle, affectionate squeeze.

"You're a really good dancer."

"Thanks. I like it. Not as much as Elle does, but it's usually pretty fun." Scorpius's lips curved sheepishly. "Except when it comes to lifts. My upper body strength isn't the greatest."

Albus chuckled, letting go of the other man's hand so that he could teasingly squeeze his boyfriend's arm as if to test the muscle tone there. "Yeah, I can't see you having an easy time lifting anyone."

His arms weren't sticks, but Scorpius had no illusions about his physical strength. He didn't really have any. "Elle and I always hated dances with a lot of lifts because I always felt bad for not being able to lift her better and I think it bugged her that I couldn't, you know how girls are about their weight. Now if she'd had a partner liked Flint there wouldn't have been any problem. He lifted me like I weighed nothing." Which had been rather awesome, if a bit startling.

But apparently some of his admiration for the other Slytherin's strength had been in his voice since Albus inquired whether he liked guys built like Flint in a too casual to be believed voice.

"Heck no, he'd flatten me like a bug."

Albus had to chuckle at that, since it was probably true. "Well I suppose if Lily should ever develop an interest in the guy we can assume that that will be one of his many excuses as to why he won't go out with her." Lily was even smaller then Scorpius after all, though reminding her of her lack of height could get you in a world of trouble.

"Well she's welcome to him. I prefer men leanly muscled like you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Turning so that they were facing each other more the two smiled as they pressed their lips against the other's, the sweet kiss interrupted by the unexpected third pair of lips that felt the need to join theirs.

Heads jerking back in surprise the two looked in tandem in their son's direction, the boy grinning at them widely as he bounced up and down, his earlier hyperness starting to return.

"How parents manage to have children close together in age is beyond me."

"I'm an only child, don't ask me."

And when they laughed Phoenix laughed with them, delighted with the world in general as he motioned for them to come dance with him.

)

Walking down the book aisle the next day Albus kept a cautious eye on Phoenix, hoping that his plan would work. He'd given the boy one of the books he'd needed to sign out and asked him to carry it for him. He'd made it out to be a really important job, and Phoenix had looked pretty puffed up and determined minutes before. Now it looked like the novelty of helping his mummy was wearing off, which wasn't a good thing since he'd given the boy the book in the first place so that Phoenix's hands would be too full for the boy to remove any more books from the shelves. They weren't in the restricted section where all the most dangerous books were kept, but there was the odd book placed on the normal shelves that he'd rather his son not get his chubby little hands on.

Hearing a gasp behind him Albus turned around automatically, a smile naturally curling his lips as he recognized the fourth year student who was an alternative on his team. "Hello, Sydney, how's it going? You all right?" The kid was looking on the pale side.

Coming up beside his mummy Phoenix had a solemn look on his face as he stared up at Sydney, his gaze direct and unblinking.

Staring down at the little boy Sydney swallowed hard, feeling like the boy could see through him. It freaked the hell out of him while simultaneously making him feel even more guilty about what he'd done. He wanted to get the hell out of there, but his feet wouldn't move.

"Are you sick?" Setting the books he'd collected onto a nearby shelf Albus moved forward and placed a supporting hand on the younger boy's shoulder while he placed his other palm against his teammate's forehead to try to get a fix on whether the kid was running a fever or not.

And it was the kindness of the touch that had Sydney breaking under the pressure, the words tumbling from his lips. "Callendar's going after Malfoy again. He made me tell Malfoy that you and Phoenix were going to meet him by the portrait of Ignatia Wildsmith because you wanted to show him something there. He believed me and he's probably almost there now. I'm sorry!"

He froze only for a moment and then Albus was twisting around to scoop up Phoenix, tossing aside the book the boy had been carry with a disregard that would have had the school's librarian seeing red had she caught him.

Pushing aside the still babbling fourth year Albus took off running, almost to the door when Rosie and Lorcan came in. Not bothering to return their greetings Albus dumped Phoenix in his cousin's startled arms, ordering her to take care of him before full out running out of the library, knowing all the while that there was no way he was going to be able to reach Scorpius in time.

)

Scorpius's eyes never left Callendar as he was circled, refusing to feel like the prey he was obviously being treated like. He'd already shown the Gryffindor once that he refused to be reduced to that but apparently enough time had passed that either the other man no longer remembered or had decided to ignore the threat he could potentially pose. He was leaning towards the second, since the man seemed to think he was a great threat to Albus for the simple reason that their families had once been at war which was both a stupid and a smart reason to consider him a threat. Stupid because if the man had bothered to truly see him without blinders these past seven years he'd know he would never harm Albus, but smart to at least go into this major fight that constantly seemed to be brewing between them assuming he wouldn't go down quietly.

Because he most definitely would not go down quietly and Scorpius knew in every fiber of his being that this was going to be the fight that dictated their interactions from now on. Callendar had finally snapped, he could see it in the man's feverish gaze. He wasn't going to be the only one requiring medical attention though. Today…today he was prepared to draw blood too if given no other choice. They'd reached the point where pacifism could get him permanently injured or killed.

And whether or not the man's stalking was intended to unnerve him or not it was working, the Slytherin thought furiously, moving his body slightly with every move the silent man made so that he was always facing him.

The silence was so at odds with the Gryffindor's previous behavior that it made his skin crawl.

"You know it confused me why they left you mostly alone after our first year."

Flinching at the unexpected noise Scorpius concentrated on every word leaving the other man's lips, his self preservation instincts screaming at him that never before had he been in more dangerous from the other man then he was now.

Yet Callendar's tone of voice was so calm, so conversational.

"I mean your family betrayed theirs too, and you lot weren't punished the way the others were because your bitch of a grandmother 'saved' the Chosen One's life by lying to Voldemort about him." The man's tone of voice didn't vary, his expression as emotionless as a mask. "So I wondered why after the first year it seemed that they left you alone. Why SO many people just stopped treating you the way you deserved to be treated for no apparent reason. It confused me so, for years and years. I mean how couldn't they see? How could they not know? And now I know and I can't help but feel a little stupid really, that I didn't figure it out before."

Scorpius knew he wasn't going to like the conclusions the man had drawn one little bit. "They left me alone because they realized I had and have no interest in repeating history. Because I wasn't a threat to them unless provoked."

"Is that the line you've been feeding Al? Telling him he's special and that you haven't been flirting and snogging with who knows how many men so that they wouldn't give you what was coming to you."

Flabbergasted, Scorpius couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You…you think I've been…seducing people so that they wouldn't pick on me? Are you mad?" The idea was absolutely ludicrous. He didn't have a seductive bone in his whole body. He wouldn't know how to seduce someone if his life depended upon it. It was still a complete mystery what Albus saw in him.

"Mad? Why should I be mad?" Callendar asked as he subtly moved closer. "Or do you think that I must be crazy because I never let you bring me to heel like the others? That I never let you use me the way you did all the other blokes who couldn't see through your deceptions. Flint was a complete surprise to me, I definitely thought him tougher than that."

"I never tried to charm you. I did my best to stay the hell away from you!"

"Because you knew you couldn't control me."

"Because I would rather impale myself on some of the school's armory than flirt with you." And he probably shouldn't have blurted that out quite so bluntly, Scorpius realized with a sinking feeling in his gut.

That feeling only increased when the other man smiled at him.

"Because flirting with me would ruin your plans, right? You're smart enough to know that Albus would consider you off limits if you'd gotten involved with any mate of him. He was your goal all along, wasn't he? The perfect man who could remove all the stains attached to the Malfoy name and allow you to regain the status your family lost after the war. All you had to do was trick him into touching the egg and then fuck his brains out at every opportunity so that he wouldn't go looking for it elsewhere. You must be fucking amazing in bed by now, considering how much practice you must have had by now, eh?"

Scorpius was so stunned by the accusations that his arm dropped down to his side once more, his wand tumbling out of fingers that no longer remembered how important it was for him to hold onto it. All he seemed able to do was stare at the other man in open mouth shock, no words coming out as the Slytherin froze like he'd been hit by a body binding curse.

He was so out of it that it didn't even occur him to fight the other man's hold when the Gryffindor suddenly appeared in front of him and reached out to tip his head up, Scorpius's brain too busy trying to re-engage to think about why the man wanted his head at that angle.

"Just how good are you, Malfoy? I'm curious now."

And then Callendar's lips were on his and the man's tongue was swiping inside his mouth to take a taste.

Scorpius's brain waves were still pretty scrambled, but his body knew that this was not Al's mouth or tongue and that meant the contact had to be stopped. Immediately.

Instinct had him biting down as hard as he could, the taste of Callendar's blood offending his taste buds even as Scorpius unclamped his teeth so that he could push the surprised Gryffindor away from him, swinging his fist into the man's face as soon the man stumbled away from him with his hands clamped over his mouth. And far from done Scorpius came at him, taking advantage of the man's shock over his reaction to get two more hits in before Callendar fell to the floor at his feet.

Only when the man was down did Scorpius risk turning his attention to retrieving his wand, instantly feeling more in control as his fingers curled around it as he leaned down to scoop it up.

Whether Callendar would have used his own wand remained up in the air since as Scorpius turned around to face the man again he was as startled by the newest addition to the fight as his attacker was, Callendar freezing in the process of getting up when he was told by the other man that it was in his best interest to put his wand away before he got hurt even more.

)

Not waiting to see whether the man would follow his order Fred nimbly snatched the other Gryffindor's wand from his hand, looking back and forth between the two as he judged the atmosphere. Both of them were in various states of shock, the two of them obviously going over what had just happened in their heads and struggling to understand how things had ended as they had. On his part he was shocked that Callendar had a thing for the Malfoy boy though it did explain a few things. As for Scorpius, well the kid was obviously horrified that he'd been snogged by the other man and probably had quite the bad taste in his mouth both because of the kiss and from the blood that stained the blonde's lips.

Callendar's too, Fred noted. Scorpius had definitely bit down hard.

And then Callendar was suddenly in movement, obviously intending to flee.

That just wouldn't do, the older man thought as he reached out with cat like reflexes, fingers wrapping around the boy's arm. And then he was using the momentum to swing the younger man into the nearby wall with all his strength, caging Callendar there with his own body as he loomed over him with a face that was devoid of the charm and easy going nature he was so known for.

"You fancy him but you've been raised to hate him. You hate yourself for wanting him and you hate him for making you want him even though he's done nothing to encourage you. The fact that he's seeing a friend of yours has only made it worse and it's only going to keep getting worse until you realize that there's nothing wrong with you fancying him. You have every right to hate the people who hurt your mother, but she's wrong to make you think you have to hate Scorpius too. Hating someone for the blood that runs through their veins is what Death Eaters do."

"I don't fancy him." Was what they thought Callendar hissed out as he rubbed the back of his hand over his bloody lips, his badly bleeding tongue making him hard to understand.

"Right…and you were sticking your tongue down his throat because you were checking him for hidden weapons."

Both boys went red at Fred's words.

"You want the both of us to believe you aren't interested him? Then stay the hell away from him. You want to man up and admit the real reason you have such a problem with him then that's between the two of you. But if I hear so much as a whisper that you tried to force yourself on him like that again it won't be him and my darling little cousins coming after your ass, Callendar. No, it will be James, Teddy and I coming at you and I guarantee when we're done with you…you'll be sorrier then you've ever been in your short life."

Warning given Fred backed up a couple steps and then pointed in the direction he'd come, making it clear it would be in the other Gryffindor's best interest to vacate the premises as he tossed the boy his wand back.

Taking the hint Callendar grabbed the wand and then headed out without looking back.

Fred waited until he was out of sight before turning his attention back to the Slytherin who'd come forward to stand beside him. "I'm going to tell Al about this. He needs to know."

"I thought as much." And in truth this was, unfortunately, not something he could keep from the other man. Because while it appeared that all of Callendar's anger was directed at him, if the man did fancy him as much as he was starting to think he did, then that anger could someday down the road shift to be directed at Albus too.

Rubbing the back of his neck Scorpius looked at Fred questioningly. "How much did you see, anyway?"

"All of it. I figured I'd let you work it out between you unless I needed to interfere."

"Oh."

Having been there since the beginning Fred was pretty sure that all the hits Callendar had gotten in had been of the mental sort, but the Slytherin had obviously punched the man with all he had too. "Your fists all right? Didn't bust up anything on that hard head of his?"

Flexing his fingers Scorpius could see that they were swelling a little but they didn't hurt yet. He was probably too numb at the moment to feel any damage anyway. "I think they're okay. I'll ice them."

Trusting that the kid wasn't lying Fred nodded his head and let the topic drop for the moment.

Slinging an arm over the blonde's slight shoulder the Gryffindor grinned down at him. "Sooooooo, since unlike everyone else I treated you like a grownup who can take care of himself…what's say you put in a few more good words for me with Elle, okay?"

Scorpius had to smile then. "Okay. But it probably won't do you a lot of good, just so you know."

"Never hurts to try."


	44. Tightening The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Tightening The Bond

Lily had been waiting impatiently for Fred to show up for ten minutes, patience not her strong suit. Of course she could just give him the pictures she'd taken of Elle dancing when she dropped by Hogsmeade, but as she explained to him in her letter Gabrielle might forbid her to give said pictures to Fred if she realized that was a possibility and since they were friends she would be obligated to withhold them from him. And standing her up was not a good way to insure her continued help in his quest to win Elle over either, Lily was thinking, right up until she heard running feet that had her turning her head to see her brother come barreling around the corner and right past her without so much as a hello.

Immediately bursting into a run Lily caught up with him, behind him a hundred percent when he informed her as to why they were running down the hallways like bats out of hell.

They were five minutes away from their destination when a silvery fog appeared before them, taking shape to become a wolf when it neared them.

"Albus, if you're on your way because Phoenix tipped you off that something was wrong with Scorpius you can quit freaking out. He's with me and we've both had a stern talk with Callendar, who you shouldn't try to kill should you bump into him. There's not even a scratch on your Slytherin, Weasley honor. See you soon."

"Well that explains why he stood me up."

He trusted Fred, so Albus didn't attack Callendar when they encountered him seconds later, the blood staining the man's chin and shirt collar, and the bruises forming on his face quickly noted and stored away for later analysis. For that moment though Albus just met his former friend's eyes, his own conveying that they'd be meeting again in the near future.

And when that happened there was very likely going to be more of the man's blood shed.

Switching her wand to her left hand Lily took her brother's hand with her right, making sure he came with her to get to Scorpius and Fred, grateful when he didn't put up any resistance as they passed Callendar. Not that she wasn't going to help him further kick the man's ass later if he wanted the assistance, but for now it was more important that they get to Scorpius to see for themselves that he was all right and find out just what had happened between him and their Slytherin .

Fred and Scorpius came into view moments later, the older man's arm draped over the Slytherin's shoulder in a friendly manner that didn't suggest he thought he might need to protect Scorpius.

Both raised their hands in greeting as though nothing amiss had occurred to either of them.

"Are you really all right?" Albus called out as he continued to run, grateful when Lily let his hand go so that she wasn't holding him back.

"I'm fine." Scorpius called back, sliding out from under Fred's arm so that he could walk quicker in order to reach his boyfriend that much faster.

Not caring that his sister and cousin were watching Albus pulled Scorpius into a hug as soon as he was in reach, holding on for several heartbeats before pulling back so that he could look the Slytherin over, eagle eyes spotting the two drops of blood on Scorpius's own shirt. "Are you hurt somewhere? There's blood."

"It's not mine." Scorpius assured him, making a face as he recalled exactly whose blood it was and how it had gotten on his shirt. He really didn't want to think about that.

"Nice work on Callendar's face, Cous." Lily grinned at Fred, giving him two thumbs up. "Just for that I forgive you for keeping me waiting."

Fred grinned and shook his head, not about to take credit where credit wasn't due. "Nope, that was all Blondie's doing. Kid knows how to use his fists as it turns out. The only damage he got was slamming those fists into Callendar's hard head. You'll want to see he ices them, Al, just in case."

"You put those bruises on Vince?"

"Gabrielle taught me. Her brothers taught her."

Having personal knowledge of the damage the Goyle twins had once done to him with their fists Fred would have had more sympathy for Callendar if not for the fact that the man seemed bent and determined to cause problems for members of his family. "So she taught you to fight, huh? Guess that explains how easily she broke my nose."

Understanding his tone of voice Scorpius gave Fred a sympathetic look, knowing he owed the man a head's up at the very least. "She hits way harder than I do. She might have pulled her punch before, since you stayed conscious."

"Lovely. Thanks for the heads up."

Scorpius was about to warn the older man about Gabrielle's habit of kicking as well as punching when he belatedly recalled why Albus must have known to come looking for him. Turning his attention back to Albus the Slytherin's voice was filled with urgent worry. "Where's Phoenix? Is he okay? Did he get very upset? He was with you, wasn't he?" He'd tried not to think about how his son might react when Callendar had suddenly got the drop on him earlier, but now that he wasn't focused on his own safety all his concern was for Phoenix.

"He's with Rosie and Lorcan. I handed him over to them when Sydney blurted out that Callendar had made him set up a meeting between him and you. We should head to the library now; let him see that you're all right for himself."

It went without saying that Callendar's punishment would be that much more severe if what he'd done had visibly impacted Phoenix.

Agreeing that they should head for the library immediately Scorpius blushed when Albus took his hand but laced their fingers together anyway, liking the comfort he got from the gesture of unity.

"So did you see the fight or just the tail end of it?" Lily wanted to know, not trusting Scorpius to retell the story accurately as they all walked together down the hallway.

"Saw the whole thing. And before you get mad at me and launch into a lecture about how I should have interfered immediately I should remind you that Callendar is never going to stop coming at him until he gets it through his thick skull that Scorpius is more than dangerous enough on his own." Fred informed his cousin, his lips quirking up into an amused little smile. "Other than dropping his wand he handled himself like a champ."

"You dropped your wand?!"

"He startled me!" Embarrassed Scorpius looked over at Fred, scowling at him for ratting him out that way to Albus. "You'd have dropped your wand too."

"Not likely to ever happen if you're his type, Malfoy."

Albus frowned, looking over at his cousin questioningly. "What do you mean, Scorpius is his type? I've asked around and he picks on Scorpius way more than he does any of the other Slytherins. Do you know why that is?"

Fred gave Scorpius a look that had Albus and Lily zeroing in on the Slytherin, who immediately hunched his shoulders defensively.

And not wanting to be the one to tell them what had happened and what he'd discovered about Callendar Scorpius opted to gamble a little. "Fred…I'll pay you ten galleons, put in lots of good words in for you with Elle AND get you pictures of her in a bathing suit if you'll explain to him so that I don't have to."

Laughing in delight Fred shook his head with obvious amusement over the offer. "And here you were doing so well, acting all tough and strong. But all right then, that's a deal I can get behind."

Well when he put it that way. "Okay, fine, nevermind." Taking a calming breath Scorpius mentally prayed for the words to come to him. "The reason why Callendar picks on me more than everyone else…well I can finally answer that question, though I'm still…coming to terms with understanding it. I never saw it coming and if I had…well I don't know what I would have done different but odds are I wouldn't have dropped my wand when he…apparently Callendar fancies me as well as hates me."

Eyes wide Albus was sure he must have misheard. Even Lily was looking at the Slytherin like he'd just announced that he'd decided to try and eat a bludger.

"He's not joking." Fred volunteered. "Saw it for myself. The blood on his collar? He got that biting down on Callendar's tongue after the bloke tried to shove it down his throat."

"He tried to French you? Well hell, I didn't see that coming. Why didn't I see that coming?" Lily demanded to know, not asking anyone in particular.

Even more stunned then his sister it took Albus a bit to kind his words again. "But…he never…why would he…he stuck his tongue in your mouth?!"

"I don't know! I didn't know he felt that way!" Just as flustered as Albus Scorpius shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "I mean when you think about it I can get why he'd hate me more if his mum's been training him since birth to hate me but he can't because somehow I'm his type but…I think he'll at least think about what Fred said to him so don't beat him up just yet, okay? I mean he sees us as a couple now and I don't have any experience with relationships, but I think it would only make things worse if you went all protective of me right now. As angry as he is…I think he must be hurting just as much."

"We'll talk about it more after we have Phoenix again." Was all Albus was willing to agree to at the moment.

)

As it turned out they didn't have to go all the way to the library to retrieve Phoenix. The little boy had been quite upset about being left behind, squirming like mad as he'd fought to get away from Rosie and Lorcan. Not being dumb the two babysitters had clued into the fact that something must be going on with Scorpius and that that was why Albus had taken off the way he had without any explanation. And not about to be left behind, and unable to contain Phoenix, the two decided to let the boy direct them as he liked, Lorcan hurrying ahead of Rosie and the toddler so that if they were headed for a bad situation he could physically shield the two long enough for Rosie to get them to safety.

And seeing that there was no obvious cause for concern or caution Lorcan moved out of the way so that Rosie could see the same, the girl setting Phoenix down on his feet before he made her almost drop him again.

Taking off towards his parents with a speed and grace he'd lacked only the day before Phoenix held his arms out to them, calling out for his 'Mummy' and 'Da' as loud as he could.

Since Scorpius had been the one in danger Albus let Scorpius hurry forward to scoop their son up and into his arms, wrapping his arms around the both of them to make it a family hug. Ignoring the new arrivals they left the explaining to the others, too busy soothing Phoenix as the little boy was clinging tightly to Scorpius's robes as he hid his face against his father's neck.

Both Rosie and Lorcan were stunned when they were informed as to what they'd missed, agreeing to keep it to themselves for the moment since Fred felt that if it got all over the school Callendar was liable to go over the deep end.

"I can't believe that Sydney set Scorpius up. Oh he's going to be sorry." She had always liked the boy, but now that Lily had told her what the kid had done Rosie was more than ready to abuse her head girl status to make the rest of the year very unpleasant for him.

"I would imagine Vince wasn't taking no for an answer." Albus pointed out as he pulled back slightly, raising a hand to stroke Phoenix's head soothingly. "And he came through in the end by warning me. Even with the warning Phoenix would have given me I wouldn't have known where to go if Sydney hadn't given me exact directions."

"That Phoenix can locate you guys is pretty cool though." Fred pointed out, reaching around to give the little boy's back a comforting pat, smiling when Phoenix looked over to meet his gaze briefly before going back to hiding his face.

"It was my fault for falling for the whole thing in the first place. He would pick today of all days." He'd stayed up very late the night before doing his homework and hadn't gotten much sleep as a result. He liked to think he would have questioned the Gryffindor more if his brain had been working better. "Anyway, Phoenix is obviously upset, so Lorcan…could you explain to Professor West that I won't be attending class because Phoenix needs me? If you could let me know what the assigned homework is I'd appreciate it too."

Lorcan immediately nodded his head. "I'll make a copy of my notes for you as well."

"Thanks."

Having no intention of letting Scorpius or Phoenix out of his sight any time soon, Albus turned to Rosie and asked her to see to it that the teachers in charge of his two classes for the day knew that he wouldn't be attending class because of Phoenix too.

Opening his mouth to tell Albus that wasn't necessary Scorpius closed it just as fast, realizing that it was for the best. He needed to calm down the Gryffindor to make sure he didn't go after Callendar before the other man had the chance to absorb what Fred had said to him. If there was any chance that this could all be settled without any more bloodshed he was all for it.

So Scorpius said nothing as plans were made, touched when everyone decided that they would all walk them back to their rooms to insure that they got there safely.

It was nice being part of a group.

)

When they arrived back at their rooms they said good bye to everyone and then headed inside, Scorpius handing Phoenix over to Albus, grateful that the boy allowed it. He'd be right back, he assured them both, he just wanted to go brush his teeth. And watching the dark shadows once again take over the Gryffindor's eyes Scorpius reached out to stroke Albus's hair back in what he hoped was a calming gesture. "It's okay. I'm okay. Blood's not mine, remember? I'll just be a minute or two."

And trusting that Albus would still be there when he got out of the bathroom Scorpius headed in and quickly brushed his teeth, removing any lasting taste of Callendar. That done he removed his robes and tie so that he could get out of his shirt. The stains were hardly noticeable, and he could have removed them himself, but he just didn't want to wear the shirt anymore. At least not at the moment.

Draping the clothing over one arm Scorpius headed back into the main room, finding Albus sitting on a chair with Phoenix on his knee, absently bouncing the boy up and down.

Neither looked to be enjoying the activity.

Shaking his head over that fact Scorpius thought to ditch his clothes in their bedroom and then come back out when it occurred to him that there was a way he could bring back the smiles of both his boys. Or he thought it would, and it was worth a shot anyway.

Walking over Scorpius held out his free hand. "You two come with me."

Looking over at the offered hand Albus got to his feet and settled Phoenix on his hip, taking Scorpius's hand as he let the Slytherin lead them towards the bedroom.

When they were inside the Gryffindor watched Scorpius toss his clothes onto the Slytherin's bed before motioning towards the other bed. "I think we could all use a nap, don't you?"

Understanding what Scorpius was suggesting they do Albus nodded in agreement, a small smile touching his lips now.

Together they moved over to the bed, setting Phoenix down on it before they both did away with their shoes and socks before crawling onto the bed together, taking their preferred side with Phoenix shifted over to lie in between them. Moving in close the two lay on their sides facing each other, each setting a hand over the boy's stomach to keep him there as well as reassure him of their presence and unity.

Feeling surrounded by their love a smile appeared on Phoenix's face, the boy's little hands coming up to rest on the hands resting on his stomach, sealing the bond.

"He's calmer now." Scorpius said softly, watching their son's face intently.

Albus nodded, though he could see that Phoenix wasn't a hundred percent yet either.

And wanting Phoenix to smile for them Albus tried to think of the various things his own parents had done to make him feel better when he'd been upset and sad when he was little. They'd done the hugging and reassuring thing, and he didn't want to leave the bed to retrieve the boy's favorite toys. A story perhaps? If nothing else Phoenix did seem to love their voices even if he couldn't possibly understand what they were saying all the time.

But then he thought about how much Phoenix loved music and he knew exactly what to do.

Like his father he didn't have the greatest singing voice, but the song was one he'd had sung to him as a small boy and that had never mattered to him. It was the message of the song that had been important.

The song was called 'Beautiful Boy', and it certainly fit.


	45. Bonds In Twos

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot. Thanks and enjoy.

Bonds In Twos

It took Albus singing the song about twenty three times before Phoenix's eyes finally closed for good, the boy's breathing slow and even as he appeared to dream peacefully between them. Only then did his parents remove their hands from his stomach, Albus shifting up on one elbow while his other arm reached out so that he could cup the back of Scorpius's head when the other man did the same, drawing his man close for sweet, gentle kisses that soothed the last of the sharp edges.

When they finally pulled away and lay back down on their pillows, content to cuddle side by side with Phoenix still between them, Scorpius asked Albus what he thought the odds were that they'd shortly be watching their son grow before their very eyes. Because while theoretically that would be sort of brilliant to see, in reality it wasn't a good thing.

"I don't know. I mean he was upset, but it wasn't us fighting, which seems to set him off the most."

The look they shared made it clear they both thought it was wishful thinking on their part, to hope he wouldn't grow, but stranger things had happened in their lives and they were trying to be optimistic.

"Are we going to have to have a fight over Callendar?" Albus asked, pretty sure he knew the answer to that one. He hadn't gotten physical with Vince yet but the man had crossed too many lines today and he wasn't going to just let it stop at lecturing the man anymore. That obviously wasn't getting through to his former friend and he was tired of letting other people handle the situation when Scorpius was his to protect, not Lily or Fred or anyone else's.

"You beating the crap out of him might make you feel better…but it won't make the situation better for anyone." Was Scorpius's quiet response after a moment's pause.

"He can't come near you if I break half the bones in body."

Scorpius couldn't help but smile just a little. "You don't have it in you to break half the bones in his body, not deliberately. At least not over something like this. And even if you did we're wizards, I don't imagine that would be that hard to fix."

The sound Albus made was perilously close to a growl. "So what, I'm just supposed to be content knowing I have what he wants? Cause that's not near enough in my books and he's too stubborn to give up. I might not know him nearly as well as I would have said I did a couple years ago, but I've seen how hard his head is too many times not to know he won't back down."

When Scorpius didn't say anything Albus gave him a questioning look, squeezing his hand to get his attention. He was trying to discuss this reasonably after all, even though he didn't want to.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to tune you out. I'm still trying to wrap my head about the fact that he…wants me. My brain can't quite process it no matter how I look at it." It was probably going to be a very long time before he could believe it, even with what the other man had done, Scorpius acknowledged as he let out a sigh. He was still getting used to the idea that he had a son and that Albus fancied him now too. His brain could handle only so many explosions in such a small time frame.

Shaking his head Albus would have lectured the Slytherin about his obliviousness to his own appeal if not for the fact that he hadn't seen it himself until fate had forced him to really look and see Scorpius for the man he actually was. And that fact reminded him of a particular photograph he'd developed a couple of days ago but hadn't gotten around to showing his boyfriend.

"Be right back."

Getting off the bed Albus walked around the bed and headed out of the room to retrieve the photo in question, having left it with the others he'd set aside to copy and send to the grandparents who couldn't get enough pictures of Phoenix, at least if their frequent letters were anything to go by.

Though the picture he'd come for was definitely not one he'd be sending to anyone, Albus thought as he flipped through the photographs until he found the one he was looking for. Returning the rest to his desk drawer Albus tucked the picture into his pocket and then headed back into the bedroom.

Pulling the photo from his pocket after he was once again resting on top of his covers while facing Scorpius Albus grinned as he watched a stunned expression cross the Slytherin's face as his boyfriend got a look at what he'd brought him.

Logically he knew that the picture was of him, but Scorpius had never seen himself look…well…sexy was the only word that seemed to fit which was just too weird for words. He looked like he'd either just had sex or was about to have sex and the more he stared at himself the hotter his face got. Vaguely he recalled the picture being taken and being annoyed because he was fresh out of bed and not properly groomed…but apparently he just needed to be half awake to have sex appeal, go figure.

And since he now had proof that he could be appealing the best he could do was point out that no one but his parents, Albus, and Phoenix had ever seen him looking like this way. And not even really his parents, Scorpius pointed out, since he was expected to always be properly dressed before coming down for breakfast.

"If I have my way it will stay that way too. I don't want any other guys realizing how sexy you are." Just the thought of having more gits trying to lock lips with his boyfriend had Albus's earlier dark mood returning.

Blush some more Scorpius nodded, just fine with that. Albus was the only one he wanted noticing him anyway.

Albus reached out and ruffled the blonde's hair, torn between adoring the man's adorableness and worrying about what sort of trouble that could potentially get Scorpius into later. "I'd say not to act so adorable too but you can't seem to help it when I'm around."

Since Albus seemed to find his blushing adorable Scorpius knew that no, he wouldn't be able to help himself no matter how hard he tried. So instead he handed back the picture, pleased when Albus moved to set it on the bedside table so that it wouldn't get bent or folded in his pocket. And then those green eyes were back and looking into his and Scorpius couldn't think about anything else.

Sighing over the look in the Slytherin's eyes Albus figured he could only be grateful Scorpius had yet to figure out how wrapped around his little finger he was becoming. "You really want me to let what happened today with Vince go?"

Scorpius nodded solemnly, surprised that Albus was willing to consider it at all given how pissed he obviously was. He wasn't an idiot either after all, he got how frustrated and angry Albus must be not to be able to act, to have him ask that of him. If someone were to hurt Albus he'd want to shed blood too.

"I'll agree to that on two conditions." Albus finally said, nearly biting off the words as he spoke them. "The first being that when we go out to Hogsmeade this weekend we make it damn clear to everyone that we're dating and you're mine. If that sets Vince off then all the better because then he'll come after me and I can kick his ass without you having any say in the matter because he'll finally be aiming at me instead of you."

Seeing a lot of public displays of affection happening during their date Scorpius blushed some more and figured that it would be in his best interests to find out what the second condition was before he agreed to anything. "And what's the second part?"

"That on Sunday I get to talk to him man to man once and for all and if I don't think you and Fred got through to him today I get to kick his ass. Or I should say incite him to throw the first punch so that afterwards I get off scot free for beating the crap out of him."

"You're really hung up on kicking his ass."

"You have no idea."

Getting that fact Scorpius sighed again and then caved, knowing it wasn't fair to keep trying to keep Albus out of his dealings with Callendar. "Okay. I'll agree to your conditions. And I won't even insist on being there when you talk to Callendar about…well about everything. My presence would probably only make it worse anyway." He'd just pray like mad that the former friendship between the two was enough to keep the Gryffindors from bloodying each other too badly.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." And since they were on a somewhat depressing topic… "If we're going to come out as a couple this weekend we both need to give our parents a heads up or they're all going to be extremely pissed at us." He didn't even want to think about how his father's father was going to react to the news when it finally reached the old man's ears. His grandmother probably wouldn't take it so well either.

Imagining the reactions that particular letter home would cause Albus decided it was a damn good thing he had a lot of pictures of Phoenix to send along with it. Hopefully that would help ease the shock a little. His parents would probably take the news loads better than Scorpius's family would though. "Will they come and see you to try and talk you out of it? Out of dating me, I mean."

"Honestly, I don't know what they'll do. I never spent that much time wondering what their reaction to that would be. I only ever imagined what it would be like if they figured out I fancied you. That never went well in my mind."

Albus didn't like the sound of that one little bit. The last thing he wanted was to put more weight and problems on Scorpius's shoulders.

It was at times like this that he couldn't help but think that growing up royally sucked sometimes.

)

Gabrielle packed up her stuff and then waited for the majority of her classmates to leave the classroom before getting to her feet as well. She hated being crowded in and bumped by every thoughtless prat who seemed to think that running out of the room would somehow magically change things so that they wouldn't have to return for the next class. That or they just wanted to leave, not seeming to see the irony in the fact that technically they were just hurrying to another class which could possibly be even harder than the class they'd just left.

People were dumb sometimes.

And speaking of people who could be very dumb at times…Fred Weasley was here.

Not quite sure what to think of his presence as she stepped out of the door, though she surmised he was there to see her since he seemed to find spending time with her so much fun for some reason, Gabrielle sighed in resignation and then walked over to stand in front of him. "What do you want?"

"Would it kill you to seem happier to see me, Elle?"

"Yes. My Slytherin soul would wither and die."

Obviously amused by her response Fred moved in closer, grabbed her hand before she could stop him, so that he could kiss the back of it with much pomp and flourish. "Well we wouldn't want that, now would we?"

Jerking her hand back while her cheeks colored up Gabrielle glared up at him. "Don't do that!"

Fred gave her a wounded look, adding puppy dog eyes to the mix for added effect. Not that they'd worked on her yet, but there was a first time for everything. "But I think I deserve some small bit of affection since I came all the way here to see you and give you some important information you'll most definitely want to hear."

"You've experimented on yourself one too many times and have less than a week to live?"

"No, the news I've come to deliver won't be of the utterly devastating, make you cry endless rivers of tears variety. I'm hale and hearty, my darling Elle, and don't worry, I'll stay that way. How could I not when I've only just discovered you? Our relationship's only begun."

"Your death might be more eminent than you think if you keep talking like that!" She hissed, looking around them to see who was eavesdropping on them. "And don't call me Elle!"

Aware that he'd pushed her enough for the moment Fred opted to ease up a little, for the sake of his health. "Scorpius, Al and Phoenix won't be around for the rest of the day. They're fine but Scorpius had another run in with Callendar and it upset the kid enough that his overly concerned parents figured they should spend some quality time with him in the hopes of averting another growth spurt. Callendar was the only one who ended up a little bloody, so no worries there. You trained your best friend well in kicking ass it seems."

Gabrielle had only one question. "Where's Callendar now?"

Neatly sliding her bag off her shoulder before she could stop him Fred slugged it across his chest so she couldn't do the same and then offered her his arm, her death glare sliding over him like water on a duck. "I'll tell you all about it if you let me walk you to your next class like the proper gentleman I am."

"Or I could just curse you and then go talk to Scorpius instead." Gabrielle shot back. "And you aren't a gentleman, you delusional Gryffindor from hell."

The woman had a way with words, he'd give her that. "But you won't curse me because we're on pretty good terms at the moment and because right now Scorpius needs to take care of his son instead of talking to you about something that's not really important since the fight happened already."

Cursing him under her breath and deliberately making sure that he would hear every word, Gabrielle wanted to just grab her bag and walk away, but she knew better than to think he'd give up her bag without a fight that would be embarrassing as hell. Weasleys didn't get embarrassed easily, probably because they did such stupid things all the time. And she really didn't want to fight with him, Gabrielle grudgingly admitted to herself, especially since she couldn't hunt down Callendar and make him cry like a baby if she was being put into detention or being suspended for maiming the grinning idiot in front of her for teasing her. Again. For the billionth time.

So with much grumbling and dark looks Gabrielle slid her arm into his and allowed him to start walking them in the direction of her next class, not even surprised that he knew where to go. No doubt someone in his family had long ago given the prat her school schedule, and she'd bet Lily if she had to choose. The girl seemed to find Fred's new love of annoying her hilarious.

And well aware of the looks they were getting Gabrielle scowled up at him that much harder. "I don't know why you want to hold my arm like this. Everyone's staring at us. They're going to get the wrong idea and then you aren't going to be able to get any dates and my brothers are going to feel that they have to come up to Hogsmeade and embarrass me by trying to beat you up."

She didn't want her idiot brothers to beat Fred up either. If anyone had that pleasure it was going to be her.

Fred stared down at her with bemused affection, marveling over the fact that she still didn't get it. And people thought Weasleys were hard headed. "You know, I know Slytherin heads are supposed to be at least twice as hard as any normal person…but exactly how many times am I going to have to make it obvious before you clue into the fact that I'm trying to get you to like me enough that your answer won't be no when I ask you out."

It was a good thing he had her arm, or Gabrielle would stumbled forward and knocked herself out if the shock didn't first. "What? Are you out of your-I know Weasley humor is so bizarrely twisted that only another Weasley can understand it but seriously-."

The rest of her words died when he leaned forward and placed a kiss against the corner of her mouth.

"I'd snog you good and proper to show you how serious I am, but this isn't exactly the time or the place for that. I have a very romantic soul." He added gravely, even as his eyes danced with amusement. And sensing that his actions had completely and totally struck her mute Fred saw no reason not to take full advantage of that fact.

"So…if you don't say no in the next ten seconds I'm going to assume that you're willing to go out with me during your trip to Hogsmeade this coming weekend."

Ten seconds passed and she was still struck dumb.

"Well then, I'll come to pick you up, can't wait and all that." Taking off her bag Fred neatly placed it over her frozen shoulder and then got the hell out of there before she could recover enough to turn him into a weasel again.

Or something even worse, knowing his girl.


	46. Bonding With Gryffindors

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the storyline. Thanks for reading.

Bonding With Gryffindors

Marching down the hallway Gabrielle was so confused it was a wonder she had yet to run into anything or anyone. What the hell was Fred Weasley up to? Had he been serious about the date thing? Was the man really that mental? Okay, that last question was easy to answer because yes, obviously Fred Weasley was that mental since he'd been flirting and annoying her for weeks now but this really proved his mental deficiencies in a big way.

She got that the man was one of those people who couldn't stand to be disliked if he didn't dislike you…but this was taking that need just a little too far, Gabrielle ranted to herself as she tried to wrap her head around the whole mess.

Didn't he realize her brothers would try to kill him once they heard?

It wouldn't be the first time, but eventually the might just succeed and another Fred Weasley would bite the dust, which was a stupid saying to begin with since one didn't bite the dust when one died, one didn't bite anything. If you were capable of biting you sure as hell weren't dead and-and where the hell did he get off thinking he could place his lips on any area of her anatomy, she silently steamed, her fury building the more she thought about it. After all, how dare he just presume that he had the right?

If only she hadn't froze, Gabrielle cursed, muttering vicious things under her breath as her fingers opened and closed into fists at her sides. She should have slugged him for thinking she'd ever be interested in dating the likes of him.

She had standards, thank you very much.

Come and get her? He could just wait for her outside until he got pneumonia and died!

Wait until she told-she couldn't go ranting about this to Scorpius because Potter was going to be there and the two were apparently looking after Phoenix anyway. Dammit. This wasn't important enough to barge in on them, especially since Scorpius was way too responsible to take the day off from school unless it was absolutely necessary.

Crap. She didn't have anyone else to rant to!

Doubly pissed now she decided that all she could do at this point was spend the entire class she was supposed to be going to writing out a long list of all the things she wanted to rant about and then wait until Scorpius wasn't busy to read them off to him. That way she wouldn't forget anything and it would give her somewhat of an outlet so she didn't take it out on someone who didn't deserve it.

Though maybe she should go hunting for Callendar…he deserved it.

But Scorpius had apparently bloodied the guy, and if she were to track him down now and give him the ass kicking he deserved everyone would just see it as Scorpius needing a girl to protect him and not as someone who was perfectly about to take care of himself and had proved it. Not to mention the fact that Scorpius had banned Albus from beating up Callendar, so it went without saying that her best friend would be upset if she went after the bastard, and he was probably already out of sorts at it was.

Damn…back to the list making it seemed.

)

Eyelashes fluttering open Pheonix took a moment to orient himself, wondering how he'd come to be in his bed since the last thing he remembered was lying on one of the big beds with his mummy and da while mummy sang him a song he really liked. They must have put him in his own bed, Phoenix decided, pouting a little since he would have much rather stayed where he'd been. He wanted to be near them, especially since his da had been upset earlier and needed to be around him and mummy lots and lots.

Concentrating on locating his da Phoenix's lips curved into a delighted smile when he felt that his da was very, very happy and close by. He was with mummy, Phoenix decided, pushing back his covers and setting aside his stuffed animals as he turned his attention to getting out of his bed so that he could find them. He wanted to be with them and surely they would want him around too now that he was awake and could play with them.

Having worked out the kinks long ago Phoenix easily escaped the confines of his bed and then room, his parents always leaving his door open a little so that they could hear him calling for them if he needed them.

Toddling across to their room, the door also open a little for that reason, Phoenix pushed it open slightly and looked around, following the sounds of their voices to mummy's bed.

They were playing that weird game they liked so much, when they pressed their lips together for a really, really long time and petted each other a lot. He didn't get the point of this game but it made them happy, which made him extra, extra happy too cause it made him feel really good and full for some reason when they played this game.

As he watched the two stopped playing the game, though mummy was still on top of da.

"We should really be doing homework or something. We are skipping classes we're going to have to catch up on later, and depending on how Phoenix is when he wakes up we might be busy with him." That was da's voice.

"Ah, but what we're doing is going to make sure Phoenix wakes up in a good mood, remember?" Phoenix knew that tone of voice his mummy was using, even if he didn't understand the words. That was mummy's voice when he was trying to talk someone into doing something. Mummy was also kissing da's neck, which da obviously liked a lot.

Da sounded like a kitty, Phoenix decided with a giggle.

"He got out again."

"How does he do that?" Shaking his head mummy got off of da and the bed, coming over with the smile mummy wore when he'd done something he shouldn't have but wasn't mad about it.

Running over to meet him Phoenix laughed as he was scooped up into his mummy's arms, smiling as his mummy continued to talk to him, though he had no idea what was being said. Poor mummy, though at least da and the funny one always seemed to understand what he was saying.

"Come here, you."

Laughing some more as he was passed over to his da Phoenix was quite happy to be there, especially when he was set on da's stomach.

But his laughter turned to a frown when he caught sight of the marks on his da's skin, not at all happy about that since he'd been taught that that meant his da had owwies. Looking up Phoenix didn't think his da looked like he was in pain, but maybe that was why mummy had been kissing da's neck. To make the owwies all better.

"Owwies?" Phoenix asked, pointing towards the marks.

"What's he pointing out? I'm not hurt."

"Uhm…your skin is really pale so…yeah…it marks up really easily."

While he watched his da's face went really red, which was terribly funny and distracted Phoenix from worrying over his da's owwies as he laughed and bounced on his da's tummy in delight, even happier when they joined in and laughed too.

)

Later that night Albus and Scorpius sat side by side on the floor, parchment, inkwells and quills lying before them on the table as they waited to be put to use. In the nearby garbage bin a number of crumpled up pieces of paper were visible, failed attempts to write the letters home they were both struggling to formulate in their minds, much less write out legibly.

How exactly did one write to one's parents informing them that you were dating the son of their former school nemesis?

Not to mention Albus would also be informing his parents that apparently he swung both ways, which struck the teenager as something he should really discuss with them in person. Unfortunately there was no way to do that before the date he had planned with Scorpius, and after that everyone with a relative at Hogwarts would know within twenty four hours that he was bi.

At this point he could only hope that his mum opened the letter first and eased his dad into it somehow.

Dipping his quill into the ink Scorpius decided to give it another go, spurred by the fact that this was the sixth attempt and the fact that he didn't want to spend the rest of the night trying to write what should be a straightforward thing. His parents already knew he was gay and…and no matter how he told them he was dating Albus they were going to take it badly so there really was no right way to write the letter, right?

So screw it.

With that mindset he wrote out the usual stuff he kept his parents up to date about, especially everything that Phoenix had gotten up to since the last letter he'd sent home since nothing was supposed to soften parents like news of their only grandchild. And that done he ended the letter with the statement that he was now dating Albus and that he was very happy and hoped they would be too.

He wouldn't make excuses, or give them a list of reasons why they should accept his new relationship with Albus. He didn't have to justify who he loved and they didn't have the right to ban him from dating someone just because of the guy's last name.

Signing his name at the bottom Scorpius set the piece of parchment off to the side to give the ink a chance to dry, addressing an envelope while he waited for that to happen.

Having glanced over in the hopes of getting some inspiration as to how to break the news to his parents Albus frowned, looking at Scorpius questioningly. "You're telling them like it's an afterthought. I mean…aren't they going to take the news badly? You said they know you're gay, but won't the idea of you dating me really piss your dad off at the very least?"

"They're going to take it badly no matter how I tell them." Scorpius pointed out, not looking up as he finished what he was doing. "There isn't a good way to say it, so I figure why waste my time dwelling on it. I'll save that for when they write back informing me of their feelings on the matter. If they write me back."

"If?" Albus repeated, not liking the sound of that.

Looking up Scorpius had no problem reading Albus's thoughts, which were practically written all over his sexy boyfriend's face. And the concern for him he saw there had Scorpius reaching out and drawing Albus's head down for a sweet, gentle kiss that was supposed to sooth and reassure. "You don't need to worry about me." He assured Albus when he broke off the kiss, the smile he wore real because of the kiss's effect on him. "However they react, I can handle it."

"I don't want to fuck things up between you and your family."

"A wise person once said that one should never change one's self to be loved, because then you aren't loved, the person you're pretending to be is. If my family can't love me in spite of the things I do that they don't agree with, then that's their loss, not mine."

Lips twitching Albus had to agree with that, though he still hated the idea that his relationship with Scorpius was bound to damage his boyfriend's relationship with his family to some degree.

But understand that Scorpius was determined, as determined as he would be if the situation were reversed, Albus didn't push it. Instead he worked up a smile too. "So who said that, anyway? It's a good saying."

"Me."

Albus blinked in surprise and then laughed.

Pleased with his response Scorpius smiled and got to his feet. "Since I'm done I'm going to go check on Phoenix to make sure he's still in bed and asleep. Do you want me to come back here and help you with your letter after, or are you good?"

"Come back here after." A grin. "You can sit in my lap and keep me company."

"You wouldn't be able to concentrate on what you were doing if I did that." And quite pleased with himself for being a bit sassy Scorpius grinned and headed out of the room towards Phoenix's, stumbling for a second when Albus gave him a wolf whistle.

But that was someone of Weasley blood for you. They never liked not having the final word.

)

The remaining time leading up to the trip to Hogsmeade went by quickly, neither of them having received a response from their letters home yet. Thankfully Lily remembered that their parents were out of the country on a business trip so Albus wasn't too worried about his lack of response and Scorpius didn't have much to say on the matter for the time being. He was going by the mantra that no news was good news until he learned otherwise. He wasn't even giving the lack of reply that much thought thanks to the fact that he had his hands full dealing with Gabrielle, who was as yet undecided as to how she was going to handle Fred Weasley when he came looking for her when she failed to show up for their so called date.

To say that many of her plans would require the man to pay a visit to the Medical Wing would be an understatement.

On top of that was the worry of what would happen when Callendar finally showed himself and they met up again somewhere. Since they'd gone head to head the last time the Gryffindor had gone to his bed and stayed there, claiming to be too sick to leave his room for any reason.

Whether he was using that time to strategize or take to heart what Fred had tried to drill into his head was anyone's guess, but both Scorpius and Albus knew it was probably too much to hope that the man was going to suddenly do a one-eighty where their relationship was concerned.

And so things were very much in flux when Saturday came and Scorpius and Albus's first real, official date was due to start.

)

Hurrying into their bedroom Scorpius closed the door behind him and then started unbuttoning his shirt as he went, not wanting to keep Albus waiting for him long. Trust Phoenix to wait until they were about to leave to pull out the jelly donut he'd somehow snitched from the table at breakfast and squish it between his little fingers as hard as he could, then wiping said mess on his shirt to get it off once he was done giggle over what he'd done.

Dumping the shirt in the hamper Scorpius was grateful that at least the powdered treat hadn't gotten on his actual skin, which meant he just had to get a new shirt on and he'd be ready to go.

Yanking open the drawer he used for his shirts Scorpius's eyes scanned and critiqued, his eyes drawn to the metallic sheen of the shirt he had yet to wear since he'd been given it. He had brought it with him to Hogwarts on impulse, as well as the vest that went with it. The leather trousers had stayed at Grimmauld Place for obvious reasons.

It was their first date…and he had looked good in it…and he was wearing black trousers, so the look would be streamlined.

Pulling out the silver shirt before he could think better of it Scorpius put it on and then found the vest, adding that to the ensemble. It was actually warm enough that he wouldn't need a coat, and if he did…well then maybe Albus would put his arm around him to keep him warm.

Blushing at the thought Scorpius shook his head at himself and then headed out of the room before he could talk himself out of what he was wearing.

Finding Albus and Phoenix waiting in the hallway, their son dressed in a new outfit now too, Scorpius was opening his mouth to tell them he was ready to go when Albus sensed his presence and turned to look at him, the look that came into his boyfriend's eyes making the Slytherin's cheeks redden.

"You didn't bring the bottom half of that outfit?" Albus asked, even as he mentally acknowledged that it was for the best that Scorpius was only wearing the top half of the outfit Louis had forced on him. The last thing he wanted was to increase his competition for Scorpius's attention after all. Maybe the shirt wasn't such a good thing either, Albus mulled over. He'd forgotten how much the shirt brought out Scorpius's eyes.

"Who would wear leather trousers around here?" Scorpius pointed out, shaking his head at the very idea.

"Good point." Moving closer Albus leaned in to press his lips against Scorpius's in a quick kiss. "You look good enough to eat."

Going completely red Scorpius hissed at Albus not to talk to him like that with Phoenix right there, nevermind that the boy wasn't paying them the least attention as he was busy playing with his mummy's hair, winding it around his fingers.

"Let's go get Phoenix to Rosie, she's probably wondering what's keeping us as it is."

"Rosie isn't someone you want to keep waiting." Albus agreed, silently hoping that Phoenix's fingers weren't messing his hair up too badly.

So they headed out the front door, Albus surprising Scorpius by taking his hand as soon as they'd locked up and were on their way.

"We're on a date, remember?"

"I remember." Was Scorpius's shy response as he gave Albus's hand a small squeeze, his smile growing when the gesture was immediately returned.


	47. Bonding While Dating

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Bonding While Dating

Walking with her head held high Gabrielle refused to acknowledge any of the looks she'd been getting since she'd headed for breakfast that morning. Enough people had overheard Fred's stupid date declaration for it to make the gossip rounds, and she was well aware of the fact that everyone was waiting with bated breath to see what would happen when she and the idiot met up outside Hogwarts.

Like she was some animal in a zoo meant to perform for their amusement, Gabrielle silently muttered to herself, which was why she had abandoned her plans to maim him, and was instead going to shun him.

She wasn't going to freak out or put on a show for anyone, and if Fred wanted to make a spectacle of himself than he was more than welcome to do so. But she'd be damned if she'd be a part of it.

Fred Weasley no longer existed in her world and come hell or high water she was not going to let him worm his way back into it. Her life was going to be Fred free from now on or she was going to find an alternate use for that stress ball Rosie had given her earlier in the week to try out.

"So is there going to be massive carnage?"

She'd only somewhat forgiven Flint for the whole dance thing, but Gabrielle was so focused on her plans for Fred that she forgot that she was annoyed with the burly Slytherin for the moment and answered him sarcastically. "No, sorry."

Shrugging his shoulders, though watching her beat the crap out of Fred Weasley would have been fun, Flint fell into step beside her since they were headed in the same direction and he was curious about one more thing. "So he's really bugging you that much, huh?" He had to be, if she was more pissed off at the man than she was at Callendar. Potter had informed him of what had happened there when he'd tracked him down earlier in the week to find out if the reason he'd told the Gryffindor not to advertise his closeness with Malfoy was because he had known Callendar would get jealous.

The Gryffindor had not taken it well when he'd pointed out that it was obvious how Callendar felt about Malfoy and therefore it wasn't his fault that he hadn't realized he needed to tell them. Potter had stomped off after that while muttering something about hoping Lily made his life a living hell.

Why he would say that he didn't know, but he'd been avoiding the man's sister ever since just in case.

Since she didn't want to talk about Fred Gabrielle clued the other Slytherin into her new philosophy. "He's not bugging me because I refuse to acknowledge his existence in my world."

Given her temper Flint didn't see that working out for her. "Do you want me to tell him off for you?"

Gabrielle stared at him in surprise, the offer catching her completely off guard. "Why would you do that?"

"I don't like guys who won't take no for an answer."

Touched in spite of herself Gabrielle smiled at him, liking him for offering to step in for her. "He's an idiot, but he's not like that. If he was I would be a lot more inclined to actually remove him from this reality as opposed to just mine."

"Just checking." He had sisters after all.

Sincerely thanking him for his concern Gabrielle smiled and then lapsed into silence, which Flint appreciated since he wasn't much for talking either. Instead they just walked together as they were going to the same place, content to lose themselves in their own thoughts and musings as they navigated the busy hallways.

And just as Gabrielle had expected, Fred was waiting in the courtyard for her when they got outside, the Slytherin deliberately ignoring his presence as she headed for the path with Flint at her side. He was curious as to how this would all play out.

Walking over to join them with long, measured strides, Fred gave Flint a hard look as he fell into step on the other side of Gabrielle. "She's too much woman for you to handle." He informed the Slytherin, knowing Flint was the type to appreciate bluntness.

"You have no idea what I can and can't handle, Weasley."

Gabrielle had to bite down on her bottom lip to keep from telling them both to stop talking about her as they continued to hurl pointed digs over her head at each other as they walked towards Hogsmeade together as a trio. But she'd made the decision to pretend Fred didn't exist so not only couldn't she yell at him, but she couldn't acknowledge the conversation he was having with Flint either, which meant she couldn't yell at them period, dammit!

Why was life so unfair?

)

As they walked hand in hand down the school hallways Scorpius and Albus were well aware of the looks they were getting from the students on their way towards Hogsmeade, though not as many as they'd assumed they'd get. Their peers were actually used to seeing them looking like a couple by now, especially when Phoenix was with them, as he was now. And while this was the first time many of them had seen the two holding hands that just seemed like something family members did, particular ones from the Potter/Weasley clan. Albus was even willing to bet that some of the staring had more to do with how good Scorpius looked as opposed to the hand holding. Most people were used to seeing him in his regular school uniform and had no idea just how hot his boyfriend could be when he put on regular clothes.

He could have done without them realizing this, but it was probably only a matter of time. The Slytherin couldn't be called a ghost anymore, everyone noticed him now because of his connection to his family and Phoenix.

He wondered if Scorpius missed the anonymity. He'd have to remember to ask later.

Arriving in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady with seconds to spare, and Rosie would have given them hell if they'd been late, neither boy was surprised when the portrait swung open at precisely the agreed upon time. As promised Rosie stepped out to take Phoenix off their hands, having opted not to visit Hogsmeade as she had some school work she wanted to get done so that she could spend more time reading the school's books later. This was her last year after all, after this she wouldn't be able to get her hands on the multitude of books Hogwarts housed.

The two didn't quite get her enthusiasm, but were more than willing to encourage it if it meant she'd babysit for them.

They also hadn't informed her that her chances of getting anything done with Phoenix around were next to nil.

Once he was in Rosie's arms it was apparently that Phoenix sensed what was happening, the toddler giving his parents a narrow eyed look that made it clear he knew he was being handed off and that they were going to be out having fun without him. And he didn't like that one little bit.

Sensing that they might be facing an extreme guilt trip of epic proportions at any moment Albus moved in to ruffle Phoenix's hair. "There, there, none of that. We're going to bring you back some really brilliant presents when we get back from Hogsmeade for you to play with. You want presents, don't you?"

Phoenix looked somewhat intrigued, though not quite sure what he was being promised either.

"And on that note it's time for us to go."

Saying good bye to Phoenix Scorpius waved as Rosie wisely stepped back inside the Gryffindor common room before the boy could decide whether he still wanted to guilt them of not, Scorpius waiting until the portrait had closed behind them before raising an eyebrow in Albus's direction. "We're bringing him presents?"

"So to speak. Fred promised to set aside a bunch of boxes for us to bring back for Phoenix to play with. We can pick them up at his store on the way back."

Recalling their previous discussion Scorpius shook his head, still not believing that their son would want to play with a bunch of cardboard. "I still don't get this playing with boxes thing. They're boxes. You're supposed to put things in them, not play with them."

"You will learn, my young padawan. You will learn."

"What did you just call me?"

"Sorry, male second cousin's a sci fi geek. If you get him talking about it he can go for hours, thus making visits with that side go faster. Which is very important, as you will someday find out when you meet him. Especially since he's loads better than his sister, who I will do my best to make sure you're never left alone with."

"O-kay."

Amused by the Slytherin's expression Albus swung the hand he'd gone back to holding, adding a touch of playfulness as they continued on their way. "Now enough about everyone else. We're on our first official date which means the next couple hours is all about us."

Remembering their first unofficial date well Scorpius smiled. "No talking about the weather or the fact that we're headed for divorce?"

It took Albus a moment to make the connection but when he did he had to laugh. That had certainly been an awkward evening, though it had led to this, hadn't it? "Yup, the weather need not be discussed and I think it's safe to say that our marriage has never been stronger, wouldn't you?"

"Definitely."

)

When a short while later Albus tugged his hand to indicate they had arrived at their destination, Scorpius took one look at the shop and then turned to gape at Albus, unable to believe that the man had picked this place for their first date. He'd been expecting the Three Broomsticks, not Madam Puddifoot's tea shop. It was the place to go for a special date or to impress a girl, but they were two guys and Albus was definitely not the sort to go into such a place unless the top two reasons applied. And while it was their first official date the Gryffindor has to know that the Three Broomsticks made a heck of a lot more sense.

He'd figured the Slytherin would react this way, and had thought about going into a spiel about how their first date should be special and about how this would really drive home the fact that they were dating for everyone else. But in the end Albus had opted to stick with the truth.

"I love her scones but I get weird looks if I go in there without it being on a date."

Blinking in surprise Scorpius took a moment to absorb this and then laughed. "I see."

"Don't knock them till you've tried them. Or have you tried them?"

Scorpius shook his head, stating that he'd never had a reason to go into the shop before. He didn't go on dates and Gabrielle wasn't much for fancy tea places since she always felt awkward and nervous around so many breakable things. Which ironically turned her from her usually graceful self into a bit of a klutz, though nowhere near as bad as her idiot brothers.

They were like bulls in a china shop when they were on their best behavior.

"Do you mind? We can go somewhere else if you like. I know you like tea and you probably drink it fancy at home so I figured…but we can go to the Broomsticks instead."

Placing a hand on Albus's arm Scorpius shook his head. "No, this is fine. I don't mind at all."

Albus gave him a suspicious look. "Are you just saying that?"

"No. I want to try these scones you like so much. I could even ask if they give out the recipe and try to learn how to make them for you. I was doing pretty good with the bread making before we came back here." He hadn't had to cook since they'd arrived at Hogwarts after all, and he'd actually sort of missed it.

Since Scorpius preferred for his petname to be between them and family Albus drew close so that his words were for the blonde's ears only. "Best wife ever." And on that note Albus lowered his head to press his lips against Scorpius's in a quick, affectionate kiss before agreeing that they should head inside, ignoring the gaping stares they were getting from those around them who'd caught the gesture.

So the two headed into the shop side by side, both jerking back in shock when confetti suddenly burst above their heads to fall in a rainbow of colors around them.

As it turned out it was the owner's birthday and so everyone that came through the door got the confetti treatment…whether they wanted to be so greeted or not. Those who came in alone or as a group got a discount, while couples got a free tray of small desserts to sample together.

The look on the hostess's face when they informed her that they were there as a couple was almost as funny as looking at the other people in the shop who hadn't gotten all the confetti off of their bodies and clothing.

Recovering just barely the hostess led them to their table, waiting until they were seated before informing them that their waitress would be with them shortly.

That done she hurried off with the express purpose of getting to the back to tell everyone that Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy were not only dating, but had come to the shop for a date! Oh the scandal!

Sharing a look after they watched her hurry off Albus and Scorpius chuckled and shook their heads in shared amusement.

)

Sitting cross-legged on the floor Rosie rolled the ball over to Phoenix, appreciating the brilliance of the toy along with her cousin's son. The ball looked pitch black when it was still, but as soon as it started to roll flames swirled inside the round toy. She wasn't exactly sure how appropriate it was to give a child, wouldn't it get the kid interested in playing with fire, but Hugo had thought the boy would like it and had loaned it to her to let Phoenix play with. Why her brother had it in the first place was beyond her, but then a lot of her brother's thought processes were, unfortunately.

Grabbing the ball with a giggle Phoenix held the ball in his little hands and then shoved it as hard as he could back towards the girl he called 'Poofy' in his head.

Back and forth they went until Phoenix got distracted for a moment by one of the logs cracking in the nearby fireplace. The ball went up and over the boy's thigh, hitting hardwood floor again as it rolled off in a new direction.

Getting to his feet the little boy quickly toddled after it, retrieving it from under a nearby table with some difficulty. Turning around Phoenix showed Rosie that he had it by lifting it up and over his head before starting to return to his earlier spot so that they could continue their game.

It was as he started forward that a lone figure came down the stairs from the boy's side, Phoenix's attention automatically arrowing in on this new presence as he stilled, like a deer who had scented an approaching predator. Because while the colors coming off the man walking into the room were very sad and not angry today, the boy was too used to them being dark not to worry.

It was the sound of Poofy's voice that reminded Phoenix that she was there and that maybe he needed to protect her from the angry one. He could throw the ball at the angry one, mum and da said that sort of thing hurt.

So quick as he could Phoenix hurried over to stand between Poofy and Angry One, his ball in his hands and ready to be thrown over his head.

"What's he doing?" Callendar asked with his hands shoved in his pockets, not coming any closer to either of them as he studied the toddler with the mutinous face.

Looking down briefly Rosie's lips twitched in amusement before she went back to glaring at the other man, cursing herself for not anticipating that this could happen. "If I were to guess I'd lay money that he's preparing to throw that ball at you if you get too close. He knows you mean harm to people he cares about after all. He senses emotions, remember?"

"Oh." And here he'd thought he was done being leveled for the week, Callendar mused as he looked down at the toddler who was apparently attempting to protect Rosie from him. He would never hurt her, but the kid would have no reason to know that. Every time they'd crossed paths things had not ended well. "I'm not going to hurt her, kid."

Rosie rolled her eyes. "You do realize how young he is, right? He can't understand you."

Taking a couple of steps towards her Callendar's eyebrows raised when Phoenix did indeed try to throw his ball at him, though it landed a good meter away from him and kept rolling to brush harmlessly up against his foot.

The kid's disgruntled look was pretty damn funny.

Leaning down the Gryffindor scooped up the ball, tossing it back and forth between his hands as he walked closer and then squatted down, rolling the ball back towards the kid. Maybe Al's kid would throw it at him again…but he supposed he rather deserved that, didn't he? For being so horrible a toddler was scared of him.

Hunkering down to grab his ball Phoenix held it between his hands for a few moments, studying Callendar all the while.

And then he rolled the ball back to the man.


	48. Showing The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the general plot. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

Showing The Bond

Callendar wasn't sure exactly how he came to be sitting on the floor, passing the ball to Rosie who rolled it to Phoenix, who rolled it to him, but the whole week had been one for the books so he played along so to speak. The kid had just started rolling the ball in his direction and since kicking the ball at the kid had been out of the question, and running away had struck him as cowardly, he'd been stuck. Especially since the kid was just a toddler who was technically even younger than that, but simply didn't look it. So he'd ended up sitting down and letting himself be drawn into the game rather than disappoint the boy.

Apparently the kid aged when he felt that there was a threat to his food source, which was Al and Malfoy for the moment according the article he'd read about it in the paper. How much had the kid had to grow because of him, he couldn't help but wonder. The boy was a lot bigger than he'd been in that article's photograph now.

Given how lovey dovey Al and Scorpius were, it was only logical to assume he'd been the monster under the kid's bed so to speak.

He'd been nasty to the kid since day one because the boy's mere existence had been a double slap to the face for him. The first and worst part was the fact that the kid was so obviously Al and Scorpius's son. Like the two men had actually become lovers and produced a kid together the normal way. Seeing Scorpius's hair and Albus eyes, the way the boy smiled like both his parents depending on whether he was feeling mischievous or shy…had been unbearable.

The second slap was because the boy had not only tied the two men together for life, but had opened Albus's eyes where Scorpius was concerned. His love/hate feelings for the blonde had been his dirty little secret so to speak, but he'd always been able to comfort himself with the fact that other than Malfoy's best friend everyone else at the school had always seemed completely oblivious to the other man's appeal. They'd all called him a living ghost and had pretty much paid him zero attention, which had suited him just fine.

So in a way he'd been able to tell himself that Scorpius Malfoy was his, since the Slytherin hadn't been interested in Gabrielle Goyle.

Not being blind he'd seen that Scorpius fancied Albus, but he'd never once thought that his friend would return a Malfoy's interest and so hadn't seen that as a threat either. And as long as Albus wasn't interested back he'd been able to maintain his friendship with him.

"What are you thinking?"

Jarred out of his thoughts Callendar met Rosie's gaze, belatedly realizing that he'd probably been zoned out for a while, passing the ball automatically. "Why are you babysitting? There's no school today."

"Al and Scorpius are going on a date in Hogsmeade. I volunteered to watch him."

"Oh."

Eyes narrowing a little Rosie gave him a look that would have done her Gran proud. "Don't make me pull out the wand."

To both their shocks Callendar heard a weak laugh escape his lips. "If you were a guy that would sound pretty perverted."

Thinking it over Rosie had to laugh too.

Waiting until Phoenix passed him the ball Callendar held it for a moment, turning it round and round in his hand before lightly tossing it to Rosie, getting up then. The laugh had helped, but it had hurt too and he needed to go.

So he said goodbye and returned Phoenix's small wave with one of his own before heading back up to the dorm rooms.

Rosie watched him go and then turned her attention to her cousin's son, who was looking at her expectantly as she had the ball they'd been playing with. "You're incredible, you know that?"

Phoenix had no idea what Poofy had just said, but she was smiling at him so he smiled too.

And then held out his hands for the ball.

)

Doing her best to ignore the two idiots she was currently stuck with, Gabrielle continued to scan the crowded room as she tried to figure out where the hell Albus and Scorpius were. The two had said earlier they'd be heading out as soon as they delivered Phoenix to the Gryffindor common room, and that couldn't possibly take this long. They should have arrived by now unless something or someone had held them up, which was what worried her. Should she go looking for them?

Glancing in Flint's direction Gabrielle considered asking him for his opinion, since she was still ignoring Fred, but he was too busy trading barbs with the Weasley brat to even notice her looking in her direction.

The whole snipping might have started because Fred had misinterpreted Flint's presence, but now she was pretty sure they were fighting just for the fun of it.

Men.

And speaking of men… "Where the heck are they?"

"Where are who?" Fred asked, having been paying her a lot more attention than she'd realized.

"She means Potter and Malfoy." Flint informed the other man in order to help Gabrielle maintain her silence where the Gryffindor was concerned. "That's why she came, so that she could supervise their date today."

"Supervise." Fred repeated, not quite sure what to make of that. He figured Gabrielle had too much class to deliberately spoil the date for his cousin and blondie, but a woman spurned was capable of very irrational and dangerous behavior. She said she was fine with the relationship, but he knew from experience that his Slytherin did denial really well.

When she remained silent Flint stepped in to explain again. "She was worried that Callendar or some other prats might show up and ruin things. The idea was to play bodyguard if necessary, but she sort of needs their bodies here in order to do that."

Fred considered this for a moment before figuring that he might as well clue her in. "If they aren't here by now then odds are that Al took Scorpius to that fancy tea shop. He loves the scones there so he jumps at the chance to go there whenever he can. A first date would apply nicely."

"You mean Madam Puddifoot's?" Followed by. "CRAP!"

Knowing better than to rub it in her face that she'd FINALLY acknowledged his presence, Fred just nodded his head before asking her if she wanted to head there to see if the two boys were in fact there. Personally he wanted to stay where they were sans Flint, but he was willing to head out if she wanted to. At least they'd be together, sorta.

Grimacing, Gabrielle shook her head. There was no way she was going into that shop. She'd only heard about it of course, she'd never had a reason to go inside and had figured that was for the best given how clumsy she tended to get around breakable things. And while she didn't stick out like a sore thumb currently Gabrielle knew she definitely would at the tea shop and then she'd be the one casting a shadow over her best friend's first date, not someone else.

"Before they go back to Hogwarts they're going to stop at my shop. If you want we can head over there and stake it out instead."

"Potter going to use some of your products on Callendar?"

Fred shook his head, though he could think of a few things his cousin could slip the guy to make him wish he'd never so much as looked at Scorpius twice. "Nope. He asked me to set aside a bunch of the bigger boxes we have so that he can take them back to the castle for Phoenix to play with."

Gabrielle and Flint gave the Gryffindor confused looks.

"What? Do all you Slytherins have deprived childhoods? Seriously, how can you all not know how much fun you can have with boxes? That's just sad, honestly." Shaking his head at the thought Fred couldn't help but tease as he aimed a wink in Gabrielle's direction. "But don't worry, I'll definitely show our future children how it's done."

Observing her reaction to that statement Flint advised her not to squeeze her mug so hard or she was going to shatter it all over herself.

)

Overall Albus figured that he and Scorpius were doing a pretty good job of ignoring all the looks they were getting as they chatted and pretended to be unaware of their fascinated audience. Scorpius was more aware of the stares they were getting, but then the blonde hadn't spent his whole life being stared at like some animal in the zoo. He'd had to get used to it, while Scorpius's parents had kept him out of the public eye as much as possible when he was a kid and then he'd only had a year or so of intense scrutiny before people had stopped paying him any attention.

"You're frowning."

Immediately turning that frown upside down as the saying went Albus worked up a smile for his boyfriend. "Sorry. I was just thinking how annoying it must be for you to be stared at like this."

"They're staring at you too."

"Yeah, but I'm used to it."

Touched that the other man was worried about him, though it was unnecessary, Scorpius shook his head. "I won't say it isn't annoying, because it is, but I don't care what they think of me. I stopped a long time ago. As long as you want to be around me, that's all that matters. And…I so can't believe I just said that." Groaning, Scorpius dropped his head into his hands, his bright red ears standing out starkly against his pale hair.

Hopelessly charmed by his boyfriend Albus just sighed and marveled over the fact that a Slytherin could be so bloody adorable. It should be illegal, seriously.

Or at least illegal around anyone but him, the Gryffindor amended, preferring to be the only one who realized the cuteness of his favorite Slytherin.

Pride making him look up Scorpius had to sigh too, when he saw the way Albus was looking at him. It totally turned his brain to mush, to see such soft affection in aimed in his direction. Albus was so honest about his feelings; you only had to look into his eyes to see what he thought of you.

Thinking to put Scorpius at ease Albus decided a change in subject was necessary. "So which mini dessert do you want?" There were two left on the plate, the scones long since devoured.

Well aware that the other man was changing the subject, and amused by his blushing as always, Scorpius's eyes made a brief sweep of those nearby, noting all the hastily jerked heads and the occasional bold one who continued to stare at them openly. They made him want to duck his head to hide his own face, and that instinct annoyed him on a basic level. He and Albus were on a date and they had no business messing with it.

And spurred by those looks Scorpius decided he should give them something to talk about.

If they were going to stare…he'd give them something to stare at.

Picking the dessert he figured Albus would want most Scorpius offered it to the Gryffindor, the way he was holding it making it clear he expected his boyfriend to eat it from his fingers.

Mouth dropping a little in shock, Albus made a sound of amusement before leaning forward, carefully biting off half the treat, his eyes remaining on Scorpius as he chewed. And then he leaned over even further and took the rest of the treat and two of the blonde's fingertips into his mouth, using his tongue to savor both treats.

In some part of his brain Scorpius silently acknowledged that it was probably for the best that his brain tended to shut down when Albus did something unexpectedly sexy to him, short circuiting his mind so thoroughly that he didn't even blush. There was no blood in his head to blush with.

Allowing the pale fingers to slide out from between his lips when he was sure his point had been made, Albus picked up the mini cupcake that remained on the plate, unwrapping the bottom half before holding it out towards Scorpius, eyes daring the Slytherin to return the favor.

Moving automatically Scorpius carefully bit into the treat, barely tasting it as he chewed and swallowed before going back for the rest, licking his own lips after swallowing that bit since he wasn't feeling brave enough to so publically apply his tongue to Albus's person. Besides, the overly iced cake had transferred some of its frosting to his skin so licking his lips was perfectly acceptable and sorta sexy too.

Albus was silent for a long moment and then cleared his throat, asking Scorpius if he wanted to order anything else before they headed out.

The Slytherin had barely finished shaking his head before Albus was signaling to their waitress that they wanted their bill.

ASAP.

)

Albus and Scorpius just barely remembered to pick up the boxes from Fred's shop, both glad that the man was apparently still out chasing Gabrielle since that meant they didn't have to stop and chat with him. Instead they took their boxes and left, thankful to have something to keep their hands occupied as they made a beeline for the castle. Rosie had Phoenix until suppertime, which meant they still had a few hours until then to be alone with the other.

They weren't planning on wasting a minute of that time if they could help it.

As soon as they were through their door Albus tossed his boxes to the floor and then neatly plucking Scorpius's out of his hands to do the same to them.

And then, hands now free, Albus backed Scorpius up against their front door and turned his attention to snogging his boyfriend's brains out to the best of his ability.

Sliding his hands up Albus's chest Scorpius wrapped his arms around the man's neck as he eagerly kissed the Gryffindor back, loving the feel of being sandwiched against his boyfriend.

Humming his pleasure when he'd gotten a good taste of his boyfriend's mouth Albus pulled back and then tilted his head so that he could nuzzle his face against Scorpius's throat, giving it a few kisses too so it wouldn't feel left out.

Keeping one arm where it was Scorpius lifted the other hand so that he could stroke his fingers through the always messy, thick black hair he loved so much. Was his to touch now whenever he wanted, Scorpius thought with a smile.

Lifting his head Albus placed his forehead against Scorpius's, doing some wide grinning of his own. "What are you smiling about?" He knew he was the cause, he just liked hearing the blonde admit it.

And knowing full well what Albus was up to Scorpius flushed a little but managed to starve off a full blush as he replied that he was smiling because he was happy. That's what happy people did.

More snogging followed, Albus's hands finding their way under the Slytherin's vest and shirt with relative ease, Scorpius's a little more hesitant but just as eager to touch as he followed his boyfriend's lead. And both loving the feel of the other's warm skin against their fingers the two started to move out of the hallway, forgetting completely about the boxes that had been thrown there until they nearly fell on them.

Catching each other while breaking off their intense snogging, the two looked down at the boxes and then back at each other with rueful amusement, Albus admitting that he should have tossed them somewhere other than the middle of the hallway.

Shaking his head Scorpius ran a hand through his hair, not surprised to find that Albus had mushed it quite thoroughly already. "Where are we going to put them all, anyway?" He would have asked earlier, but his mind had been focused on not jumping Albus in broad daylight while their peers watched.

Reluctantly letting Scorpius go Albus walked over to deal with the boxes now that he'd had the opportunity to thoroughly snog his man and would again shortly. "We might as well stash them in the front parlor for the time being. Once I'm finished with them we can move them to Phoenix's room since hopefully in the morning and after nap time he'll opt to play with them in his room while we're otherwise occupied."

An idea only now occurring to him, Scorpius tilted his head thoughtfully to the side as he narrowed his eyes slightly. "You know…it's just occurring to me now that you've been really hung up on this whole playing with boxes things. Are you sure it isn't you that wants to play with them?"

"What? Me? No. I'm way too big to play with boxes anymore."

"Right." Drawling out the word Scorpius's lips twitched with amusement, reading the truth like it was printed on the other man's face. "You're PHYSICALLY too big to play with the boxes, you mean. If they were big enough for you to play in you would, wouldn't you?"

"No." The speed of the reply made it clear even to Albus's own ears that yes, he bitterly resented the fact that he was now too old to play in boxes without people questioning his sanity.

Laughing in delight Scorpius reached out and framing Albus's face between his hands gave his boyfriend a smacking kiss. "Sure. I believe you."

Flushing with embarrassment Albus rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, mock scowling as he tried to keep what dignity he still had.

And that much more in love with Albus then he'd been before, Scorpius wrapped his arms around the Gryffindor's waist and hugged him tight.

Yeah, he was definitely happy.


	49. Box Bonding

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Box Bonding

Absently stroking the dark, sweaty head that rested on his shoulder, Scorpius made a mental note to tease Albus about his love of boxes whenever they were alone together and he felt like getting jumped. The results were definitely worth the small amount of tickling he'd had to endure when Albus had rightly figured that that was a quick way to subdue him. He was still a little hazy as to how exactly they'd ended up on the floor, but his recollection of how they'd come to be half naked and sweaty on said floor was crystal clear and brought both a smile and a blush to his face.

Nuzzling his face against his Slytherin's warm chest, Albus was equally content to stay right where they were even though he knew they really should get up, especially since the last time they'd accidentally ended up sleeping on the floor they'd been sore the next day.

And chasing Phoenix was taxing enough when they were in peak physical condition.

Which reminded Albus, unfortunately, that the boxes still needed to be taken care of before dinner. Getting the new 'toys' assembled would take time and be a lot easier to do without Phoenix getting in the way, which their kid would definitely do. Right now Phoenix wasn't old enough to do much more than decorate afterwards, but he wouldn't think so.

So reluctantly Albus lifted his head and then sat up with a sigh of regret. "We both need a shower."

And damned if thinking about why they needed to shower didn't have him getting hard again. Crap.

Instinctually reacting to the look that had come into the Gryffindor's eyes Scorpius flushed and squirmed. "Albus…."

"I can't help it. And neither can you from the look of it." Getting to his feet Albus didn't bother to try to straighten his clothes before holding out a hand. "Come on then, I'll be good. Or try to be, anyway." Because boy did Scorpius look sexy as hell when he was all tousled and well pleasured.

Groaning low in his throat Scorpius sat up too, taking the hand since he'd feel stupid if he didn't.

Helping his man to his feet Albus kept Scorpius's hand in his, not surprised when the Slytherin tried to tug his hand free so that he could set his open and pushed aside clothing back into place. "There's no point since you're going to get naked to shower anyway." And damn, there went his hormones spiking again, Albus acknowledged with a small wince.

"You can shower first. I'll wait."

Weasley curiosity kicking in, he had a feeling the other man's reaction would be priceless, Albus brought Scorpius hand to his lips and after kissing it gave the Slytherin the most 'let's me and you get naked' look he could muster. "Or we could just save on water and shower together."

Awww, Albus thought, mildly disappointed moments later. He just went into shock. That was no fun.

And still holding out for an interesting reaction, Albus decided to take advantage of the fact that he still held Scorpius's hand and started pulling the other man with him as he headed in the direction of the bathroom, deciding to see how long it took before his favorite blonde snapped out of his daze and started reacting.

Once there, however, Albus noted no change in the stunned, 'what did he just say' look on the Slytherin's face.

"Okay, not my best idea, apparently. Though I was just kidding, you know." Realizing how that sounded and knowing his boyfriend pretty well by now, Albus assured him that it wasn't because he didn't like the idea of showering with him, but that they both knew it wouldn't be good for their self-control to put themselves in that situation when they still had yet to get the book they'd asked Hugo to procure for them.

Explanation given, Albus reached out and gently turned Scorpius in the direction of the door. "I'll shower first since it's probably not a good idea for you to try in your present condition. Most household accidents occur in the bathroom and all that jazz."

Trusting that Scorpius would go when he was ready, the Gryffindor walked over to the counter, placed his glasses there, and then headed over to the tub, quickly discarding his rumpled clothes and shoes as he went before getting in without a backward glance.

He'd just gotten the temperature to where he wanted it when the curtain was pulled partly aside and Scorpius's furious face appeared in its place, the man's tone starting out biting as he turned to face him.

"You only said that to get a reaction out of me, didn't you, you…you…wow."

Swiping his hair and water out of his eyes Albus blinked, utterly shocked to feel color coming to his own cheeks as Scorpius's eyes moved over his body like a lover's hands, apparently not wanting to miss an inch of his flesh. Without his glasses or contacts in place he couldn't see Scorpius's eyes clearly enough to read the man's expression at the moment, but he really didn't need to, his body's reaction telling him all he needed to know.

And here he'd thought the amount of time he spent in locker rooms had made him immune to caring about such things.

But this was different, especially since Scorpius had never looked at him this way before.

So he was a little taken aback when the curtain was suddenly yanked back into place, though getting the reaction he'd expect from the blonde made a smile curve Albus's lips even as he wondered over his own strange reaction. Not so strange though, since he did want Scorpius to find him attractive and they had done some serious, if quick foreplay less than half an hour ago.

He just wasn't used to being looked at like…like he was everything Scorpius could ever want.

Blushing at the thought, Albus had only just turned his attention back to lathering up a wash cloth when he heard the curtain being drawn back much more slowly this time, it his turn to freeze in place as his ears heard and his other senses told him that he wasn't the only one in the tub anymore.

And then Scorpius's arms were wrapping around his waist and the Gryffindor felt his man's naked body press up against his own for the first time. Always before they're been at least some clothing in the way, both because they were so often caught off-guard by their hunger for the other and because the clothes helped remind them that there were still limits to how far they could go.

The gloves were off, so to speak.

They stayed like that for several long, drawn out moments before Scorpius asked him to turn around, withdrawing the arms he'd wrapped around the Gryffindor's waist.

Feeling like he had imps running amok in his stomach, Albus slowly turned around, blinking in surprise when Scorpius's hands came up to slip something-his glasses, the Gryffindor realized, into place so that suddenly he could see everything with sharp focus.

Then Scorpius held out a hand. "Soap, please."

Now able to see the Slytherin's face and eyes perfectly, Albus was suddenly reminded of that saying that you should never pull a predator's tail.

Apparently he'd pulled this snake's tail just a little too hard this time.

Handing it over Albus's eyes went huge as Scorpius deliberately ignored him and after holding the bar under the water for a few moments lathered it up and then setting the soap aside began running his soapy hands over the his neck and then down and around his chest, the Slytherin's eyes hidden beneath his lowered lashes as he concentrated on what he was doing.

Utterly hypnotized, not to mention getting harder by the second, Albus gaped like an idiot as he watched Scorpius re-lather his hands up, the soap then applied to the man's stomachs and thighs in slow, deliberate strokes.

He was perilously close to drooling, watching the suds and water slide down all that pale skin, when Scorpius suddenly shifted closer and neatly made him turn to the side, allowing the blonde to get under the spray so that he could wash away the soap, Albus intimately aware of the Slytherin's thigh brushing temptingly against his.

And then Scorpius pulled back, turned around, and slid out of Albus's reach as he pushed back the curtain and stepped out of the tub, thanking Albus for letting him share the shower before yanking the curtain closed once more.

Shocked speechless Albus remained where he was as he heard Scorpius move around and then close the bathroom door behind him, the Gryffindor collapsing against the wall at his back, laughing even as he groaned at the predicament he now found himself in.

Damn, Scorpius had gotten him good.

)

After taking care of a rather pressing matter, Albus finished his quick shower and then headed out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. Scorpius was nowhere in sight as he headed for their room and got dressed, likely avoiding him out of embarrassment, Albus decided with a grin, looking in the direction of his bed longingly. A nap sounded like a damn good idea to him at the moment seeing as he was feeling deliciously loose and relaxed, but there were still the boxes to deal with and if he slept now it would screw up his sleeping schedule later.

And Phoenix screwed with his sleeping schedule enough as it was.

So he dressed in casual, well-worn clothes and then headed for the parlor.

Once there he undid the shrinking spells they'd used to make the cardboard structures easier to carry without breaking them and had just finished that when Albus sensed Scorpius's presence, the Gryffindor turning his head to smile at his decidedly bashful looking blonde. Apparently all the self confidence the other man had shown a little while ago had run its course.

"Hey. You gonna help me with this, then?"

As previously stated he'd never played with boxes as a child, but if a child could do it then Scorpius figured he should be able to assist Albus well enough. And since he sorta wanted to make up for what he'd done to the Gryffindor, however deserving, the Slytherin nodded his head and came over to stand at Albus's side, asking what he could do to help.

Given the trouble his earlier teasing had gotten him into Albus decided to pretend like the whole shower thing hadn't happen until Scorpius brought it up. Or later that night after Phoenix was in bed. Whichever came first, the Gryffindor thought with a small grin.

"I'll leave the house to you since that's the easiest thing." Pointing at the biggest box with one hand Albus retrieved his wand with his other. Then using the wand he quickly drew a box in the air, and then added a rectangle box to symbolize the door and four small squares grouped together on either side to represent the window panes. "So basically you need to cut out those squares for him to look out of, and for the door don't cut on the one long side so that it will swing open and closed."

Scorpius studied the incredibly crude, lopsided diagram and then nodded again. "I've got it." Not the appeal of the exercise, he silently added, but he understood his assignment and would complete it to please his boyfriend. "So what are you making?"

"A car."

"I see." A house maybe, but how the hell was the man going to make a car out of a box? Better he not ask, Scorpius decided, wisely turning his attention back to the box he had been assigned. If nothing else trying to figure out the appeal would take his mind off the fact that he'd paraded naked in front of his equally naked boyfriend.

Dear Merlin.

After a few moments of contemplating his task Scorpius excused himself, leaving the room briefly before returning with some supplies to help him complete his project correctly.

Looking up briefly from the hole he was cutting in his box for Phoenix to fit through Albus took one look at the ruler in his boyfriend's hand and groaned. "Oh no, you're one of those!"

"One of those?" Scorpius repeated, not liking the sound of that one little bit.

"Like Rosie and Aunt Hermione. You have to make everything level and perfect and all lined up-why can't you people just free hand things? It drove me crazy as a kid…to the point where I refused to build box houses with her anymore. She could never just get creative, go crazy, risk making a mistake! Do you know how many boxes she demolished because they didn't meet her standards, do you?"

"Ah…no."

"So many I lost count. No matter how much time and effort I'd put into-Gah, I can't think about it."

Doing his best to keep a straight face, which wasn't easy, Scorpius kept his voice calm as he reassured the other man that he'd put the ruler away and wouldn't use it.

"Really?"

"Really."

Blowing Scorpius a kiss of thanks Albus grinned and then went back to working on his own project, glancing up every once in a while to make sure that Scorpius was indeed not using the ruler. Not that the Slytherin seemed to need one, cutting out the windows with clean, even lines that were pretty much perfect from where he was sitting.

But that was okay so long as there were no rulers or lines drawn onto the box.

Once he was done with the windows and the door Scorpius surveyed his work, pleased with it but well aware that his project wasn't nearly as complicated as the car Albus was working on. The man was even making a steering wheel out of cardboard.

Frowning, the Slytherin turned his attention to the three other boxes they'd brought with them. "What are the other boxes for?"

"The big one was in case something went wrong with the house the first time, the other two in case I screwed up on the car. Which, now that I can use magic to fix my mistakes is sort of pointless, but I didn't think of that when I asked Fred to put them aside for me. Habit."

"Are you going to screw up on the car or can I have them?"

"My car is going to be the best car I've ever made, which, for your information, is saying something. My mum has the pictures to prove it. So yeah, you can use the other boxes if you messed up on the house, though it looks pretty good in my opinion."

Opting not to comment Scorpius simply tipped the other larger box on its side and cut it in half.

"Uhm…Scorpius…"

"Just work on your car."

Ignoring the looks he was getting Scorpius cut a hole big enough for Phoenix to climb through on either side of the 'house' and then attached a half a box to either side, creating two extra rooms for the boy to crawl into as it suited him. Using magic he sealed the boxes together to insure the toddler wouldn't easily detach them when he played inside provided Phoenix liked the house as much as Albus seemed to think he would.

That done the Slytherin decided to change the color, cardboard wasn't exactly an appealing shade, and eventually decided, just to amuse himself, to make it look like red brick.

And okay, it was sort of fun, Scorpius admitted to himself, deciding to decorate the insides of the box too.

Not saying a word Albus just kept working on his own project while he smiled a smug little smile.

)

They managed to complete their respective projects before dinner, both confident that Phoenix was going to be thrilled with the new 'toys'. Even Scorpius was willing to admit out loud that it had been fun making the house and that he was actually looking forward to their son busting up the one he'd just made over the next couple of weeks so that he could make him another one. Two weeks would give him plenty of time to come up with a more innovative design, plus he could consult with Fred on the box sizes too now that he had some idea what Albus had been going on about.

When they showed up at the Great Hall they found their son with a bunch of Gryffindors, the two not really all that surprised to see that he was completely wired again given how they'd spent a portion of their afternoon.

Looking more than a little frazzled Rosie handed Phoenix over to them with obvious relief. "It was like he was on that Puckerberry stuff Uncle George fed us kids that one time. He was so hyper! How could he be so hyper when he doesn't even eat sugar?"

"Well his food is happiness, so being with you must have made him really, really happy." Albus told her smoothly, both because there was no way he was telling her the truth, and because he didn't want to lose her as a potential babysitter.

And as he'd hoped Rosie immediately pinked up with pleasure, weary tiredness forgotten.

Feeling guilty Scorpius volunteered to ride herd over Phoenix for the meal since the Gryffindors had already had to deal with the boy all afternoon.

As a result of that offer he and Gabrielle ended up taking turns eating, which seriously limited their ability to discuss how their days had gone even though they were both curious.

Not even bothering to stay for dessert, Phoenix was too unmanageable and he was distracting everyone, Scorpius bid Gabrielle good night, assured her they'd talk the next day, and then got up from his seat. Keeping a firm grip on the boy's hand, no easy thing, Scorpius let his son lead the way down the aisle towards the door, un-surprised when Albus met him there.

"You could have stayed for dessert."

"Naw. Besides, I want to see his reaction when he sees what we made for him."

Smiling Scorpius nodded, the three of them heading out together.

)

And sorry for not going into a lot of detail in the beginning, but this fanfic is pretty much all fluff and a shower sex scene wouldn't have really fit so well lol.


	50. Boxes, Books, Bonding

Disclaimer: As always we'll own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in.

Shout out to San Juanita Hernandezas promised, thanks for reviewing all forty-nine chapters in your unique way. They were a fun read too lol.

Wahoo, chapter 50! And this story will end…when I run out of fluffiness. Whenever that is lol.

Boxes, Books, Bonding

Arriving back at their place Albus and Scorpius each took one of Phoenix's hands, they'd let him run some of his energy off in the school's hallways, and then made a beeline for the boy's bedroom, ushering the still quite hyper boy inside. Once there they moved so that they were all facing the newest additions to the room and then the two let their son's hand go so that he could look over everything for himself.

Intrigued enough by the foreign objects in HIS space to settle a little, Phoenix slowly walked over to study the strange structure, making note of the hole that seemed to invite him inside of it. He did so like small spaces that he could hide in.

Especially if his mummy and da couldn't reach him and had to struggle getting him out.

Looking back at his parents at that thought, Phoenix noted that they seemed to be motioning for him to go towards the hole. Hmmm, interesting. And trusting that they had a reason to do so the boy got down on his hands and knees and crawled through the opening, not sure what to think at all when the hole was closed behind him so that he was alone and cut off from them in the strange place.

But he could see okay, Phoenix thought to himself as he got to his feet, noting the small holes that let in light. And, when he looked out those holes, he could see his mummy and da just fine too. They were staying close by, and would no doubt rescue him if he demanded to be let out. His parents hated when he cried and always came to make him feel better.

He loved that about them.

Pleased by that fact and the reassurance that they were standing by, Phoenix set out to investigate the rest of this strange addition to his small world, noting the fact that one of the 'rooms' contained a large pillow and a number of his picture books. The other one had some of his toys too, ones he knew he hadn't left in this place earlier. It was like he had lots of rooms now of his very own, just like his parents did.

Yay!

)

"Well, I gotta admit, he loves his box house." Sitting cross-legged beside Albus on the floor, Scorpius was amused by the occasional shaking of the boxes as Phoenix bounced around in it, the toddler ever so often popping up by one of the windows like a rabbit checking for predators before ducking his head back down and going back to his fun. Watching the blonde hair, wildly sticking out in all directions as per usual, slowly appear in the windows even before Phoenix chose to show himself made him laugh every time.

"Yup. It's going to be hard to get him out of there. He hasn't even noticed the car yet."

Laying his head on Albus's shoulder Scorpius smiled, shyly linking their fingers together between them. "He will and he'll love it. My house is just bigger so he noticed it first."

Tilting his head to rest against his boyfriend's the two stayed that way for a while until, to their surprise, Phoenix willingly came out of his box house having figured out how to open the door so that he could get out.

Why he was coming out became apparent quickly as Phoenix began to scooping up some of his other toys to take into the box house with him. Apparently what was already in there wasn't enough.

Seeing his chance Albus got to his feet and scooped Phoenix up off his feet before the boy could collect anything else, the toddler immediately giving him a disgruntled look that said he didn't want to play with him right now and couldn't he see that he was busy playing with his house?

"You have another present, Kiddo, which, for my ego's sake, I wouldn't mind you trying out before you go back to playing with your da's house." And walking over to the car he'd made Albus carefully set the boy down inside the hole cut out for that purpose, bringing up the thin pieces of rope he'd conjured and attached to the box, and then placed them over Phoenix's sturdy little shoulders to keep the car at the boy's waist level. Then he stepped back, a grin spreading over his face as Phoenix carefully swung his hips side to side to see what that would do.

Phoenix had never been in a car now that Albus thought of it, though he'd seen them drive by on their walks in Muggle neighborhoods. But Phoenix had still been a baby then, and probably didn't remember that clearly. That being the case his boy most likely didn't even realize what he was supposed to be pretending he was driving.

Crouching down Albus put Phoenix's hands on the steering wheel and showed the toddler that it moved, pretty sure now that the car thing was just a little too old for his son just yet.

Okay, so he had no idea why his mummy had attached this thing to him, but it was sort of fun to move the round thing and it seemed to make his mummy happy when he did that. Curious as to what else the weird thing hanging off his shoulders could do Phoenix started walking over to his da, who was smiling at him too. But when he tried to get a hug he couldn't because whatever he was wearing kept them apart, much to his annoyance.

Seeing the problem Scorpius moved so that he was beside his little man and then hugged Phoenix that way before turning him loose as well, telling him to go run around and play with his car.

Resigned to the fact that whatever this weird piece of clothing was, and boy was it weird, was going to keep getting in his way, Phoenix headed back towards his box house, tripping on the toys his mummy had made him drop earlier when he'd pick him up.

Wham, right into the house.

"What the hell?" Picking his son up and putting the boy back on his feet, Albus didn't know what to make of the fact that the front of the box car now looked like an accordion.

Coming over Scorpius winced when he saw the damage Phoenix had caused his car when he'd crashed it into the house. "Uhmmm….I reinforced the house with magic, so it would be harder for him to break it. Too much…apparently."

"Just a little, yeah."

Watching Albus free Phoenix from the wrecked car Scorpius rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. "Sorry about your car, I can probably fix it. Maybe."

"No big. He wasn't really into it anyway." Leaning over Albus gave Scorpius a quick but firm kiss on the lips to reassure him that he wasn't really mad. "But since you're feeling guilty you can make it up to me by letting me help you make the ultimate house after he destroys this one. Oh, and we should make this one more breakable, just in case Phoenix is the one that crashes into it instead of the car next time."

"Good idea."

While they took care of that Phoenix went back to playing inside his present, quite delighted with the way this day was going.

)

It was at breakfast the next morning that the owl came to deliver the large package, dropping it down in front of Hugo with a solid thud. As there was only one thing he was expecting in the mail currently Hugo was pretty sure he knew what had arrived and therefore opted not to open it in front of everyone. Instead he met Albus's gaze briefly and then set the paper wrapped package on his lap, waiting to make sure that his delivery hadn't caught anyone's attention.

When the coast was clear Hugo covertly transferred the book from his lap to Albus's, trusting that his cousin would return the package to him later if he was wrong about the contents, and the books he'd felt under the packaging were actually for him.

Giving his cousin a small nod of thanks Albus shoved the package into his book bag, knowing he would have to wait until he was back in his rooms to find out whether or not his aunt had come through for him. Not that he doubted her bad skills when it came to acquiring books, but she also got embarrassed easily. A woman buying books about gay men probably got some really weird looks.

To take his mind off of what the package may or may not contain, Albus opted to observe those around him, amused by the fact that while he was getting shot 'covert' looks from housemates and those at other tables. He wasn't being questioned within an inch of his life like he had been the night before though. It couldn't be that they'd run out of questions, so it must be Phoenix's presence at the table that kept them all in check, he decided with a wink in the little boy's direction.

He was guessing that they didn't feel comfortable asking him if he and Scorpius were shagging while a toddler was around and known to repeat words that caught his fancy.

Scorpius had said that his housemates hadn't bombarded him with inquiries the night before, but that was probably because Gabrielle wouldn't have allowed it and his boyfriend didn't have any other friends in that house besides his fierce female protector. Today there were a few people sitting closer to his boyfriend than usual, Albus noted, but Gabrielle never moved from her spot at Scorpius's side so he figured that his blonde would continue to be spared the worst of the gossip and interest which suited him just fine.

When he glanced down his own table Albus could also see Callendar sitting six people down, though the man appeared to be completely absorbed in his breakfast and had yet to so much as glance in his direction. He knew that Vince knew that he and Scorpius were dating, but the man hadn't commented the night before either. And Rosie had told him all about the fact that his former friend had rolled a ball around with her and Phoenix for a bit, and he didn't know what to make of that either.

That news had surprised the hell out of him, but as Scorpius had pointed out their son was capable of doing some pretty incredible things. For the moment he figured it was too much to hope that Phoenix had somehow magically forced the Gryffindor's head on straight, but he'd obviously had an effect since the man wasn't hiding out in his dorm room anymore.

He didn't like the idea of Phoenix being around Vince without trusted adult supervision…but if anyone needed some positive vibes right about now it was probably his former friend. Unfortunately.

Which brought him to the present, and the fact that he hadn't gone all angry boyfriend on the other man's ass because of that fact. He'd been waiting and waiting for his chance to finally make it absolutely clear to Vince, in a probably violent way, that he wasn't going to let the assehole get away with bully his boyfriend, much less kiss stealing and now…crap.

Because, dammit, he didn't have it in him to kick the man while he was so obviously down and out. Stupid conscience.

"So what did our mum send you?"

Albus didn't hear her the first time, but when Rosie shook his shoulder while repeating herself he clued in enough to understand he was being asked to comment about something. "What?"

"For the third time, I asked what my mum sent you? Though it's weird for Winter to mess up his delivery. He is getting old though." Her fondness for her brother's owl was in her voice even though she considered the creature to be almost as absentminded as her brother sometimes.

"Oh…uhm, just some Muggle books I asked Hugo to ask your mum to get for me. I thought about asking my dad to get them when he got the chance, but I figured your mum would be better to ask since she spends so much time in bookstores already. They're for a friend." Technically Scorpius had been his friend before they'd started dating so he wasn't lying exactly.

And he didn't even want to think about what Scorpius's reaction would be if the general public was to learn what the books he now owned were about. The Slytherin was liable to die of embarrassment before they'd even had a chance to try anything.

"Gotcha. So what are the books about?" She was always on the lookout for new reading material, which was getting ridiculously hard to come by, and maybe whenever Al's friend was done with the books he or she would be willing to lend them to her if the topic was something interesting.

Wracking his brain for how to answer that Albus decided to be diplomatic and say that it had to do with a personal problem his friend was dealing with and didn't want to advertise.

Getting the message that these books probably had to do with a personal and or social issue plaguing one of her classmates, Rosie just nodded and didn't push any further other than to say that she hoped that the books helped Albus's friend.

"I'm sure they will, thanks."

"Good."

)

After breakfast Albus didn't even have time to tell Scorpius that he'd gotten the books because Rosie and some of his friends had come over with him since they all had their first class together. So in the end he only had enough time to hand Phoenix over to Scorpius and wish him a good day before heading off with the others.

And as soon as they were in the hallways people started coming over to take advantage of his son's absence, peppering him with questions about his new relationship with Scorpius and refusing to take no comment for an answer. The biggest topic under conversation was what the teachers and headmaster were going to say, especially since Albus and Scorpius were living together under the school roof, which just gave Albus one more thing to mentally freak out over.

As a result the next few hours of classes were completely wasted on him, Albus's mind focused solely on counting down the minutes until it was time to pick up Phoenix and get some place private.

When the time came he was first out of the classroom and arrived to pick up his son early, speeding back to their rooms as soon as it was polite to do so.

Not surprised and very thankful when Phoenix headed straight for the box house as soon as he was free to do so, Albus waited until the boy was out of sight in the box before he turned his attention to the package all but burning a hole in his satchel.

Pulling it out he set aside his bag and then took a seat on the floor, quickly shredding the paper to get to what was inside. There were three books as well as a note, Albus setting aside the note for a moment as he read the titles of the books to confirm that they were indeed for him and not his book crazy cousin.

Okay…definitely for him, Albus thought with a grin, though he didn't doubt at some point Hugo would want to read the books out of sheer curiosity. That was just his cousin's nature.

Turning his attention to the note Albus hesitated before reading, not wanting to infringe on his cousin's privacy or anything. The cover story Hugo had given his mum concerning the books was that he was getting them on behalf of a friend who needed them but had no way of procuring them on his own. That was the truth after all, and Hugo sucked at lying in general. They'd both just agreed that they wouldn't clue anyone in to the fact that he was the friend just yet.

Knowing his aunt Albus figured she'd written Hugo info on the books in question, and that spurred him to open the note and skim the contents. If it was all personal he'd stop and give it to Hugo when he saw him next.

But as he thought it was all about the books, Aunt Hermione informing her son that she was sorry it had taken her so long to get the books in the first place. Apparently it wasn't easy to find decent books that she considered appropriate for teenage boys to be reading. She was also now well versed about such things, so if Hugo's request had anything to do with her son developing an interest in experimenting sexually, she knew how curious her baby was, she and Uncle Ron were just fine with that.

Which probably meant his aunt had informed his uncle that he was going to be okay with their son possibly being bi and Uncle Ron had been smart enough to know that arguing wasn't an option, Albus noted with a grin as he closed the letter, seeing that the rest was directed at Hugo personally.

She wasn't wrong to think that Hugo was perfectly capable of dating a boy just out of curiosity; it wouldn't surprise him in the least if that were to ever happen. So he wouldn't feel bad about indirectly making his aunt and uncle question whether or not they might have to deal with Hugo coming home with a boyfriend someday. In the long run it would give them time to get used to the idea, so really, he was doing them all a favor.

One of the books was about how to tell people in your life that you were gay and dealing with the various reactions, he'd save that for last since they'd both come out already.

Onto the far more interesting books, Albus thought as he cracked the first one open.


	51. Studying the Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the storyline. Thanks for reading.

Studying the Bond

Doing his best not to break out into a full run, he'd only get winded before he reached his destination and have to stop to catch his breath then, Scorpius walked as fast as he possibly could while telling himself that if something was really wrong he'd know it. Weren't parents supposed to have a sixth sense when something was wrong with their children? No, that was probably an old witch's tale, otherwise Phoenix would never have had to wake them up when he was teething. He would have known something was wrong before it had gotten to be more than the baby could bear. So Phoenix really could be hurt somewhere or more likely Albus was hurt and unconscious and Phoenix was just a baby and hadn't known or been able to get help.

To hell with it. He started running.

He was blowing this out of proportion, just because Albus hadn't shown up to give him Phoenix so that he could take over baby watching duty wasn't the end of the world, but he'd waited for the man for twenty minutes to show up and…and…dammit where the fuck were they?

At first he'd just assumed that the two had been held up, either by someone or a group wanting to see Phoenix or to question Albus about their relationship now that they were openly dating. He'd waited and waited but eventually the hallways had become empty and he'd known that classes had to have started and…and what if Callendar had done something? What if the man hadn't decided to leave them alone and had decided to go after his family instead of him?

What if…

Ignoring everything around him and turning down new hallways more out of instinct than from sight, Scorpius was panting hard and wild eyed by the time he reached their rooms, opening and closing the door behind him automatically, not even hearing the door slam back into place.

Seeing that Phoenix's door was partially open Scorpius ran there first, throwing it the rest of the way open so that it slammed against the wall.

And that made Albus drop the book he held as he jumped and then twisted around to stare at the blonde staggering over towards him with a mixture of shock and worry. "Scor-what the hell? Are you hurt?"

Falling onto his knees Scorpius gasped for air, Albus not sure what to make of the fact that the wide eyed fear he'd read in the man's eyes moment before was turning into red hot fury, his boyfriend's normally foggy eyes turning into dangerous storm clouds that promised extreme thunder and lightning.

"Why…weren't…you…there?!"

Doing his best not to flinch Albus risked the man's wrath and reached out to put his hands on the Slytherin's heaving shoulders, giving them what was intended to be a comforting squeeze. "Why wasn't I where?"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU MEET ME AFTER MY FUCKING CLASS?!" Another thought occurred to Scorpius now that he knew Albus was all right, one that had him scanning the room frantically. "Where's Phoenix?"

It took Albus a moment to realize that it might have been a while since last he'd seen his son, especially given that he took Scorpius's first statement to mean that he'd been reading for around two hours. Feeling more than a little worried himself Albus breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed what Scorpius was now staring at.

Phoenix had heard all the yelling and was staring at them through one of his house's windows, no doubt wondering what the heck was going on with them all of a sudden.

They both had a moment to take comfort from the sight of the boy, who disappeared from sight once he was sure everything was all right, before Scorpius remembered who was directly responsible for nearly giving him a heart attack and pinned the Gryffindor with a look that spoke of untold horrors if he didn't have some sort of explanation.

Hands flying up between them Albus talked fast. "I'm sorry. Really sorry. I got caught up reading and completely lost track of time. You know I'd never stand you up on purpose."

"You don't even like to read." Scorpius all but snarled, snatching up the open book Albus had dropped on the floor, turning the cover towards him so he could see what the hell was so sodding interesting that- "Oh."

"Yeah. Aunt Hermione finally came through. She sent us three of them, though the one is sort of useless at this point since it's all about how to come out and deal with the possible backlash from family, friends, and society. I figure we should both read it at some point but it's not really…the most important." Albus finished lamely, hyper aware of Scorpius's presence beside him. Before he'd been too focused on the man's wrath to think about anything else, but he had just spent two hours reading…porn wasn't the right word, but it had certainly gotten his hormones into high gear.

Recognizing the look that had come into Albus's eyes Scorpius fought the urge to fidget or stop breathing. Breathing was important, breathing was necessary. He needed oxygen to reach his brain so that he could think, the Slytherin reminded himself, even as his blood tried to figure out whether to head for his cheeks or a lot farther south.

Lifting his hand Albus slid his hand over Scorpius's rosy cheek and then cupped the back of the blonde's head, murmuring that he'd been learning a lot before pulling the Slytherin close so that he could capture Scorpius's mouth in a heated kiss.

His emotions had already been running high before Albus had made his move, Scorpius blaming that and the relief he felt knowing his family was safe for why he basically climbed into the Gryffindor's lap and threw himself into the snogging with a passion that flared even brighter and hotter than Albus's.

Making a pleased sound in the back of his throat Albus deepened the intimacy by adding his tongue to the occasion, moaning when Scorpius immediately did the same. His Slytherin was a quick study and damn talented when it came to using his tongue. Placing his hands on the blonde's back Albus gently pushed to bring them closer together, Scorpius widening his legs to accommodate.

Approving the action one hundred percent Albus let his hands slip down Scorpius's torso, halting them when they were resting on the blonde's trouser covered arse. And though most of his concentration was on what they were doing with their mouths a corner of Albus's mind focused on another part of his boyfriend's anatomy and what the book he'd been reading had to say about what he would, in theory, be doing to the man's ass when the opportunity presented itself. It freaked the hell out of him more than a little, he wasn't entirely sure he had the patience or skill to make sure that Scorpius would be able to take him. He tended to lose his head the more clothes they discarded between them. But at the same time the idea of being inside Scorpius, being the blonde's first…

Highly aware of the hands Albus had placed on his rear, particular when those fingers spread out and began to knead, Scorpius broke off the snogging with a gasp, staring into Albus's eyes for a moment before throwing himself back into the snogging with renewed fever. And when he felt the man's fingers parting his ass cheeks, Albus's thumbs rubbing between them in a way that had him moaning eagerly for more against their sealed lips, well he was all for it.

And their lips stayed busy as Scorpius shoved and tugged Albus's robes off, fingers fumbling with the man's tie when it slowly sunk in that they weren't the only one's making noise and that the low whimper was one of pain.

Breaking off the snogging Scorpius looked over, face going beet red as he stumbled out of Albus lap and over to crouch in front of Phoenix, who held out his left hand while his green eyes shimmered with unshed tears, a book in his other hand.

"Owwie."

Scrubbing his hands over his face Albus took a deep breath before moving over to kneel beside Scorpius, seeing the thin scratch for what it was. "Got a paper cut, Buddy?"

In response Phoenix handed the book over to his mummy, the way he looked at its cover suggesting that he wouldn't really be all that upset if one of his parents were to burn it.

While their son glared at the cause of his injury Scorpius quickly took care of the small wound which had already stopped bleeding for the most part. And he made sure to make a big production out of kissing it all better, Albus doing the same when Phoenix insisted on showing his mummy the injury too in a bid for more sympathy.

Once he felt they fully appreciated the degree of his suffering and had cuddled him enough Phoenix wiggled out of his da's grasp and headed back for his box house, leaving the dangerous book with his parents to punish.

Watching the boy go Albus allowed himself a small groan as he leaned his head against Scorpius's. "It's at times like this that I wonder how parents manage to have kids who are close together when it comes to age."

"No kidding."

)

Albus waited patiently beside the classroom door a short while later, still mentally preparing his excuse for not having shown up to the class currently in session. He'd left the books and Phoenix with Scorpius, though whether the blonde would read anything before dinner was questionable. Scorpius was a lot more responsible than him after all and he had warned his boyfriend that he wouldn't be able to stop reading once he got started. They'd lucked out before, the box house keeping Phoenix busy and entertained while he'd been out of it, but they couldn't count on that happening again. Their boy was a toddler now and his attention span was bound to wane sooner as opposed to later.

What would Scorpius make of the books though? Would it make the Slytherin more eager to get naked with him or scare the heck out of him?

Cause personally he hadn't been this spooked and desperate since he'd been the virgin.

Running a hand through his hair while he gave a rueful laugh, Albus supposed that was only fair since he was still a virgin when it came to guy on guy sex, and Scorpius's first time period. And Merlin only knew how much more they'd be freaking out over taking their relationship to the next level if Phoenix weren't with them so much of the time.

The door opening Albus stayed out of the way of the initial stampede, waiting until the coast was relatively clear before heading in, acknowledging those still in the room before approaching the front desk where his teacher gave him a pointed look.

"I'm really sorry I didn't show up for class today, Professor." Albus began, genuinely sorry since he'd upset Scorpius and worried him. "I got busy studying before class and was so into it that I completely lost track of time. Scorpius figured that I was just running behind and by the time he came looking for me and finished yelling at me it was too late to get here. I didn't want to interrupt you all part way through and…will you at least accept my homework? I swear I finished it last night and I even have a note from Scorpius vouching that I did and he wouldn't lie for me, at least not about this." Albus amended, trying to be as truthful as possible. "You know he takes school much more seriously than I do."

Looking a tad amused she nodded and held out a hand for the homework, Albus gladly handing it over.

"Do you want to see Scorpius's note?"

"No, Mr. Potter, that won't be necessary. You can get a copy of today's notes from someone, no doubt…and I expect you to make it to all your future classes unless you have a note from Madam Pomfrey…or Mr. Malfoy."

"Yes, Ma'am. Thank you, Ma'am."

Giving her a wide grin Albus quickly headed out, he still had one more class he needed to make after all and he was technically running behind. Thankfully he'd memorized the Marauders' Map years ago and knew all the shortcuts he needed to take to arrive on time, slipping into his seat with five minutes to spare. Naturally some of his classmates wanted to know why he hadn't shown up for his last class, several of them worried that perhaps something had happened to Phoenix. He gave them all the same excuse he'd given his teacher, not really surprised that none of them seemed to believe he'd actually been studying. Which was only fair, Albus thought with a grin, since normally Rosie had to all but tie him to a chair to get him to do that. But they didn't press and soon they all had to take their seats.

Now that he wasn't reading a book about sex Albus was well aware of the eyes that glanced in his direction every so often. He knew it was Callendar, he knew that gaze by now and the man preferred to sit in the back of the classroom because the other man didn't like talking in class.

He made no move to make his former friend aware of the fact that he knew the man was watching him, concentrating instead on the lesson since he'd already have to play catch up where his previous class was concerned. Not paying attention here would come back to bite him on the ass and would cut into the time he could spend with Scorpius and Phoenix if nothing else.

But he couldn't help but be aware, so that once the class was done for the day he looked over his shoulder and met Vince's gaze, holding it while everyone else around them packed up to leave.

Albus became aware of three people watching him from the side, turning to see that the Scamander twins and Frankie were standing in the aisle with their stuff, their eyes conveying that they would be willing to stay behind and cover his back if he wanted them to.

Shaking his head Albus smiled at them to let them know he appreciated the offer, but he had this.

It was time, really.

"We won't go far. Send a patronus if you want some help." Frankie told him, deliberately talking loudly enough that there was no way Callendar couldn't hear him.

"Understood."

The three gave him one last look and then headed up the aisle, all of them giving Callendar pointed stares before leaving the classroom.

There were still others in the room as well, many of them watching and obviously hoping for some sort or scene or juicy bit of gossip they could pass around the dinner table shortly. Albus ignored them, getting his stuff together and then starting towards the door too, watching Vince do the same above him.

Together they walked out, Albus taking the lead since he had no intention of letting himself be led into a potential trap. In his gut he didn't think that was what the man was up to, but the past few months had made it clear that he didn't know the Gryffindor nearly as well as he'd previously thought. Vince might have been okay when Rosie had spoken to him last, but Phoenix had been present and acting as a buffer.

There was no buffer between them now and this clash had been in the works for far too long.

Once they'd put enough distance between them and the rest of the student population Albus turned to face his rival. "So what do you want?"

"I expected you to come after me. Why haven't you?"

"Scorpius asked me not to. At first. I was going to give you hell after Hogsmeade…but you were already miserable and down."

Shoving his hands into his pockets Callendar dipped his head, hiding his expression as he forced the next words out. "I don't owe you an apology or anything. But I owe him one. I'll give him one…eventually." When he was sure he'd actually do it and wouldn't end up lashing out or doing something equally stupid or ill-advised.

"That's why you wanted to talk to me?" Albus's confusion was evident. "You…want me to tell him that you'll tell him you're sorry for being a ginormous ass and prick eventually? Because I don't think he really cares. Just leaving him the hell alone would probably be enough. And I don't want you near him even to apologize for that matter."

Despite evidence to the contrary he wasn't a complete idiot. Callendar figured that there was no way Fred Weasley hadn't told Al that he'd tried to snog Malfoy. So Al knew about that…and…and…shit.

"I had another reason for wanting to talk to you."

"And that would be…?"

"I know you two are going out. Rosie said and everyone's talking about…about you two." Which scraped against him like glass shards on fresh skin, but he didn't say that. "I'm not up to…I can't…Hogwarts wasn't built in a day but I'm going to frickin try to be…I don't like how our friends are looking at me. I don't like thinking that maybe they aren't wrong to look at me that way. So I thought that I should…that I maybe…probably…owed Malfoy and…you're serious about him?"

Albus's eyes narrowed and took on a decidedly possessive glare. "That's none of your business."

"No, no it's not. But I'm asking because…I don't get the whole egg thing, your kid I mean and what he can do. But I get that he messes with people's feelings and stuff. In a good way. The Prophet said something like him being the opposite of a Dementor and when I was around him…I haven't felt that calm and together in a long time." Pause. "The reason why I'm asking is because if you aren't sure you're gone on Malfoy, that you're really into him and that it's not the kid…you should tell Snak-you should tell him that. He's….it was always you, he loves you for real. So be sure. For…for his sake. That's what I wanted to say."

)

Clarification: Two things, the first being that despite what some of you think I didn't name a character, Corbin Fischer, after a porn star. That was completely accidental. His name comes from two movies, 'Fifth Element' and 'Inception'. The second thing is that if you want to know how I envision Gabrielle looks wise check out Samantha Barks as Eponine in 'Les Miserables'. My Gabrielle is taller and more curvy, but the face is pretty spot on to what I was imagining.


	52. True Bonds

Disclaimer: As always we'll own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in.

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, my HP muses are on vacation. Will try to find them soon lol.

True Bonds

Vince's words zoomed through Albus's mind like a hundred snitches, bouncing around inside his skull while chanting the fact that the other man thought Scorpius felt the big L for him. And while most of his brain cells were otherwise occupied with that, what remained was currently yelling at him that he would really be an idiot if he believed anything Vince had to say at this point about anything. Especially anything concerning Scorpius.

"Why…would you think that?"

Oh man, they were going to have to have a discussion about it? Damn, he'd been afraid of that. "Because it's the truth even if you don't believe me."

Could he believe Callendar was being selfless about this? No, unfortunately, he really couldn't, Albus acknowledged, the sadness of that fact dampening out the snitches in his head so that his mind could come up with any number of reasons why Vince might tell him that Scorpius loved him. It could be a ploy to make him think the other Gryffindor had accepted that he and Scorpius were dating so that he wouldn't see the next attack on his boyfriend coming, or an attempt to break them up because Vince thought the idea of Scorpius loving him would send him running in the other direction. Less damning would be that Vince wanted his friends back and thought to win points with him so that he'd put in a good word for him. He was a Potter after all, who he shunned got noticed and often copied by the easily influenced.

This could even just be a test to see how tight he and Scorpius really were because Vince somehow thought he might have a chance with the Slytherin despite all the crap he'd put Scorpius through. And if that was the case Vince wouldn't know what hit him when he got through with him, Albus thought darkly, his eyes narrowing threateningly.

"Look, don't believe me if you want. Fine with me. I just thought…fuck it."

Not about to get into a discussion about his motives, especially when he didn't want to think about them, Callendar shrugged it off and jamming his hands in his pockets spun on his heels and started heading back the way they'd come.

"You know you don't have a chance with him, right?" Albus called out, watching the way Callendar stopped walking and went very still.

"If you weren't such a Potter when it comes to this sort of thing you'd know the answer to that already."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Callendar didn't answer and kept walking, Albus spending too much time glaring at the man's retreating back before realizing that he should have called the other Gryffindor back or chased after him before Vince had walked out of sight.

"Crap…what am I supposed to do now?"

Should he ask Scorpius about what Callendar had said? That didn't strike him as a very good idea even though he knew himself well enough to know that he'd probably blurt the question out in the near future if he couldn't figure out for himself what Vince was up to.

Could his boyfriend be in love with him? The Big L sort of love? How would Vince even know if that was the case? It wasn't like the prat and Scorpius had ever been friendly enough to discuss that sort of thing. Hell, guys didn't talk about love seriously unless they had to. Callendar had to just be messing with him, it was the only logical explanation. Scorpius couldn't be in love with him, he'd know, wouldn't be? But then again…he'd been pretty clueless about the man's feelings before, hadn't he? He only knew now that the Slytherin had been into him for a long time…but you could be into someone and not see them as your intended soul mate, right? And they were only seventeen so really, what did they even know about that level of feeling and commitment?

Of course he was a Potter, a sly voice pointed out to him, and it was sort of family tradition to find your special someone early in life. But that didn't prove anything, Albus reminded that stupid voice, especially since Scorpius wasn't even a Potter.

If Scorpius were to ask him something like that out of the blue he'd be flustered as hell, not the least because he didn't have a complete handle on how he did feel about the other man. He knew he'd never felt what he had with Scorpius with anyone else, but that didn't help him much in the grand scheme of things. And what if the blonde only told him what he thought he wanted to hear if he did ask? The man was a Slytherin after all, he could probably lie to him with a straight face if he really tried. Plus what would he do if the answer was yes and Scorpius really was in love with him? How would he handle that? What could he say to that that wouldn't put a strain on the relationship they were still building together?

"If I ever find out that Vince told me this just to fuck with my head I'm going to shove his up a dragon's ass, swear to Merlin."

)

Well aware of the fact that the only reason Phoenix was letting him carry him was because the toddler was still pouting over the fact that he'd been removed from his box house against his will, Scorpius kept a firm grip on the boy just in case. Not even the promise that they were going to see 'mummy' had been enough to lure the boy out of his box and Scorpius was pretty sure that as soon as they got back to their rooms after dinner the toddler would head straight back to his early spot.

He'd have to consult with Albus about whether letting the boy sleep in it was okay or not.

Spotting the man in question up ahead Scorpius frowned slightly as he took in the fact that his boyfriend was wearing a rather pensive expression. Which was certainly abnormal for him, especially since Albus had been in a pretty good mood when he'd seen him last. The Gryffindor had snogged every last brain out of his head before he'd dashed out to turn in his homework and apologize for not coming to class. Maybe the professor hadn't accepted his apology? Or maybe he was still frustrated? He'd certainly been thanks to their son's presence in the room before Albus had left. And wondering wasn't going to get him answers, the Slytherin reminded himself, setting Phoenix down on his feet and pointing out where Albus was, lips twitching with amusement when the boy gave him a look very similar to the one Albus was wearing before trudging over to his mummy.

So lost in thought that he didn't even notice Phoenix until the boy gave his robes a hard tug Albus looked down and had to smile, the pout his son wore just that adorable. Scooping him up Albus nuzzled his cheek against Phoenix's, asking if the boy's finger still hurt.

"No, he just didn't want to leave his box."

Why are you looking at me that way, Scorpius couldn't help but wonder, barely hearing Albus's greeting. Because there was something in the other man's expression…something had definitely happened since he'd seen the Gryffindor last. "Is something wrong, Albus?"

"What? No. Nothing wrong. Everything's good, thanks." And realizing that his tone and slightly jittery response completely gave him away Albus's lips curved ruefully. "I talked with Vince, he wanted a quick chat after our last class and I'm still turning it all around in my head. No bloodshed or anything though." He added, knowing that would be the blonde's next question.

"That's good. What did he want?" Moving to stand at Albus's side as they started walking towards the Great Hall Scorpius hoped that whatever Callendar had wanted to talk about it wouldn't make things worse for all involved.

"That's what I'm not sure of. I've become paranoid where he's concerned. But he did say that he's going to apologize to you eventually. Whether he meant it or not…only he knows at the moment."

Considering this Scorpius thought but didn't say that he didn't really care whether the Gryffindor apologized to him or not. It would probably be better for Callendar if he did, getting some closure so to speak that way, but for himself Scorpius didn't need the words.

"If he apologized would you accept?"

Summarizing his early thoughts Scorpius ended the explanation with a light shrug. "So I won't be holding my breath as you put it, but yeah, I'd accept if he ever gets around to saying that he's sorry."

"You'd forgive him, just like that? After all he put you through? Why?"

A little taken aback by the other teenager's tone of voice Scorpius looked over at him in surprise before turning his attention back to watching where he was going. "Well, yeah. If it's a sincere apology. Holding it all against him, well that doesn't help either of us, right? And things have to hard enough on him as it is since he's lost pretty much all his friends and I…I'm with you. That's really got to hurt since you two were friends before."

"And what would you do if he decided to ask you out?"

"What? Are you serious…he'd never do that."

"You can't know that for sure."

"Sure I can. It's probably one of the reasons he's been escalating the older we get. To burn those bridges so to speak." Seeing that Albus didn't get it Scorpius explained the new theory he'd come up with since he'd been clued into the fact that Callendar both hated and fancied him. "I always figured that he went after me because I'm a Malfoy, but what I didn't get before was…his feelings for me could never go anywhere. I mean he must have been horrified when the way he looked at me started to change and so he made sure that not only would no one ever clue into those feelings, but that I'd never look at him as someone I might fancy. There aren't a lot of gay men in Hogwarts and I was available until you and I started going out. If he was paying attention before that he would have known I wasn't…adverse to good looking, Quidditch crazy Gryffindors."

"You think he's good looking?" Albus demanded to know, cutting off the rest of Scorpius explanation.

"Around other people, yes. I don't tend to see him at his best." Scorpius pointed out dryly. "And as I was saying it would have been a lot harder for him to deal with things if a relationship between us was possible. So he made sure it wasn't on top of reassuring his mother and everyone else that he hates Slytherins and Malfoys particularly."

"Damn right it's not possible, you're mine." And to prove it Albus shifted Phoenix a bit so that he was holding the boy with one arm and then reached out with his free hand, grasping the back of Scorpius's head so that he could pull his boyfriend in for a steamy kiss that had the majority of the people around them stopping in their tracks to observe and throw out cat calls.

As a result Scorpius's ears were quite red by the time they arrived at the Great Hall and Albus's arm was wrapped very possessively around the blonde's waist.

)

Sitting on his mummy's knee Phoenix absently waved the large spoon he'd been given, not really all that interested in playing with it but aware that it was all he was going to get while they were in the big room with all the people his parents knew. Normally he didn't like coming here that much, mummy and da always wanted him to stay still and didn't pay him as much attention as usual here, but tonight he didn't even care about that as he stared off into space.

On an instinctual level he knew what was wrong and that he'd have to deal with it soon, but he wanted to stay full as long as possible. Maybe that was selfish of him but he didn't like the idea of emptying himself out when the soul bond between his light parent and dark parent was still solidifying. What if something went wrong? It still could after all, creatures like them often messed that kind of thing up. He would do his best not to let that happen, but he could only do so much.

Real, true love wasn't something anyone could create between two souls after all. He might not know how he knew that, or even what love really was, but there were just some things he knew without anyone telling or teaching him. That he'd been born knowing.

And he didn't want to get any bigger, Phoenix thought as his lips curved into a pout, he wouldn't be able to fit into his little house if that happened.

But he really didn't have a choice, Phoenix thought with a tired little sigh. His parents were feeding him way too much happiness and he was going to have to release that soon or he wouldn't have any energy at all. It was what he was supposed to, he knew that. He just didn't want to do it yet. He'd wallow in the good feelings for a while yet even if it did make him want to curl up and go to sleep.

"Is Phoenix okay? He's the complete opposite of yesterday."

Feeling a hand on his forehead Phoenix looked up questioning at his dark parent, not minding the touch in the least even if it did make him feel a little fuller since he could feel his mummy's love through the contact.

"He doesn't have a temperature, and the healers at St. Mungos said that kids like Phoenix generally don't get sick. Maybe all his hyperness recently is just catching up with him." Lifting the boy up off his lap Albus held Phoenix up to face him. "You feeling okay, Little Man? Just tired and a little cranky about the whole box thing maybe?"

Perking up a little at the mention of his favorite thing Phoenix gave his mummy a hopeful look. "Box?"

"Yeah, we're almost done and then you can go back into your box and stay there until bedtime." Pause. "And that sounds like something a really abusive or homeless parent would say to their child."

Phoenix smiled at the sound of Funny One's laughter. "We used to ask mum and dad if we could sleep in our box houses as I recall."

"Back then we didn't realize that they always okayed the idea because if we were sleeping in the boxes we weren't asking to have campouts outside. I don't know if he's old enough for that though, plus Scorpius probably won't care for the idea. But we'll see what he has to say after dinner. That sound good to you, Phoenix? Do you want to sleep in your box house tonight? Hmm?"

A lot more animated at the mention of his favorite new toy Phoenix nodded his head rapidly, waving his spoon around as he chanted the word 'box' over and over again to get his enthusiasm across.

)

Albus considered it a miracle that Phoenix was half asleep when they got back to their rooms after dinner, the boy allowing his mummy to carry him all the way back without a peep. Exactly why their son was so tired the two didn't know, but both hoped that it was a sign that Phoenix was going to settle down more easily at night since Phoenix didn't seem sick otherwise. And that was probably wishful thinking on their part, they acknowledged as Scorpius went to their work area to finish up an essay and Albus turned his attention to getting Phoenix into his pajamas so that when he did conk no changing would be required. Once that was done he let the boy toddle back into his box house, leaving the room long enough to grab a book he was actually supposed to be reading for a class and then retook his former seat on the floor to read and supervise.

Since this book didn't interest him at all Albus looked up often to check on his son, which proved to be unnecessary since before long he didn't hear any noise from the box house at all. When he stuck his head through the door Albus wasn't surprised to see Phoenix passed out on the large pillow they'd put inside it for just such an occasion.

Retrieving a blanket Albus used his wand to float it over to Phoenix and around the boy, figuring that it would be safe enough to let the toddler sleep in the box. It wasn't like the boy couldn't get out of his bed in the night if he wanted, and he'd leave the bedroom door open a little so that Phoenix could come to them if he needed them.

Sure that their son would be okay Albus turned a lamp on so that Phoenix would be able to see if he woke up during the night and then switch off the main one. Taking his book with him he headed for the study area, surprised to see that Scorpius wasn't there.

No, his man was currently lying on his bed with a very familiar looking book in his hand when he found him.

Grinning automatically Albus started forward, deliberately sliding onto the bed and then crawling on his hands and knees up the Slytherin's body, the gleam in his eyes decidedly wicked when Scorpius lowered the book to watch him coming with eyes that got bigger and bigger the closer he got.

"Now where were we?"

Breathing Albus's name Scorpius tossed the book aside without another thought, arms already reaching out as he welcomed the man's weight as Albus settled on top of him and slotted their mouths together.

Definitely time for some one on one time.


	53. Happy Bonding

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot. Thanks and enjoy.

Happy Bonding

Albus woke up feeling ridiculously happy. He was smiling even before his eyelashes flickered and his mouth seemed permanently stuck in that position as he sat up and stretched his arms up above his head. Quite frankly he couldn't ever recall waking up feeling so refreshed, reeved and…and just plain happy to be himself. That struck Albus as a little odd once his brain was a little more awake, especially since he hadn't gotten laid the night before even though he'd really wanted to, but he felt too cheerful to overanalyze why he felt so good.

They could have had sex, Albus thought as he looked beside him, reaching out to stroke down Scorpius's serious bedhead. It had been damn hard not to let their considerable teenage hormones get the best of them, but they'd had just enough brain cells working that they'd discussed whether they were going to go all the way or not before their brains completely shut down. Neither of them had finished reading up on the subject so to speak, and even if they did do it right…odds were Scorpius wasn't going to be jumping out of bed the morning after.

Not that the sleepyhead ever jumped out of bed, but still…they should at least try to avoid advertising the fact that they were having sex since they didn't want to discuss their sex life with any of their teachers, headmaster, or fellow students.

But if Lily hadn't been joking about how willing her roommates were to let her keep Phoenix overnight sometime, and Friday night worked for them…then he and Scorpius had a date that would end with them both getting very, very lucky.

Whistling merrily as he got out of bed, showered, and dressed for the day, Albus was unaware of the fact that he hadn't stopped smiling since he'd woken up as he headed for Phoenix's room to check on the boy, not worried in the slightest about his son's lethargic behavior the night before for some reason. He just didn't have it in him to worry or fret, there was just no room.

And he had no reason to worry, Albus noted as he saw the boy's head pop up to look at him through the box house window, the toddler waving happily and then disappearing from sight. Then the door was being pushed open and Phoenix came crawling out before regaining his feet and toddling over with a huge smile on his chubby face as he babbled a mile a minute.

"Nice hair, kiddo." Laughing, Albus scooped the boy up into his arms. Phoenix's hair was standing up on end like he'd received a massive shock, and no amount of stroking his fingers through it would get it to lie down. Which was unusual, but not exactly cause for concern either.

Giving up on the hair Albus got Phoenix dressed and then put the boy back down on the floor so that the toddler could work off some more energy before it was time to wake up Scorpius and get ready to head out for breakfast. But Phoenix didn't want to play with his box or toys anymore, the boy holding his arms up and making it clear that he wanted to stay with his mummy.

Surprised but willing Albus picked the boy up and cuddled him close, going all mushy inside at the way Phoenix snuggled up against him the way he had when he was just born. Since he'd learned to crawl and walk Phoenix hadn't had much interest in being held for very long, preferring to move around and explore his world as much as possible. Apparently the boy was in the mood to stay close, and he certainly wasn't going to complain as he decided to head back to bed with Phoenix. Scorpius was still fast asleep, no surprise, but they'd both put their pajamas on after they'd fooled around quite a bit last night, so that wasn't as issue as Albus set Phoenix against the Slytherin's chest.

Immediately cuddling close to his sleeping da Phoenix made happy sounds as Albus joined them, moving in as close as possible before wrapping an arm around the two to link them all together.

Needless to say Scorpius was quite surprised to wake up to Phoenix crawling all over him, but he was in too good a mood to do anything but laugh and give his little boy some well placed tickles in loving revenge. And of course Albus had to join in and so the day started off with plenty of laughter and giggling.

)

The boys were ready to go and grinning like idiots when the girls arrived to walk with them to the Great Hall, Lily and Gabrielle happy to see that Phoenix was his usual self instead of looking all worn out the way he had last night. Not that the break from his usual hyperness at the table hadn't been appreciated, but they preferred him happy and eager to interact with everyone. Which he certainly was today, Lily noted, the boy happily walking between Albus and Scorpius with his little hands in theirs. The two swung him back and forth to his delight, his bright laughter ringing through the hallways.

They were three quarters of the way when they spotted the Fat Friar flying towards them, a very jolly smile on his ghostly plump cheeks. "Hello there."

Everyone returned the greeting, Phoenix letting go of Albus's hand long enough to wave.

"I didn't want to interrupt your meal later, especially since I'd imagine many from my house will be doing that momentarily, so I thought to meet you along the way." Moving in the ghost stooped down a little so that he and Phoenix were a little closer in height. "I just wanted to thank you, young one, for the lovely gift you gave Hufflepuff last night. I've been sure to tell them that they have you to thank for it."

"Phoenix gave them a gift?" Scorpius repeated, having no idea what the ghost was talking about.

The old spirit nodded. "Yes. He released all the good emotions he's been storing up last night. As the Hufflepuff dormitories are close to your rooms the vast majority of them were affected." Since it was apparent on the faces of the teenagers that they didn't quite understand what he meant the Hufflepuff ghost relayed what the Grey Lady had told them to expect when it came to Phoenix. "Your boy collects loving emotions, but doesn't need all of it to sustain himself. So once he has too much extra he sends it to those who aren't filled with happiness to make them happy too. I'd imagine the two of you woke up feeling quite rejuvenated and positive."

"That's why I couldn't stop smiling?"

The Fat Friar nodded in confirmation.

Lily snapped her fingers. "That must be why he was acting all weird last night. He was so tired because he was full of happiness! Like we get after Christmas dinners at Gran's."

Glad to have an explanation Scorpius thanked the Friar. They'd known that someday Phoenix would be able to affect the moods of others but he hadn't realized his son would be able to do it already with the occasional burst of happy powers.

Assuring the Slytherin that no thanks was necessary, he really was a nice boy now that he was getting to know him, the ghost asked to accompany them to the Great Hall, the teenagers happy for the company. And just as the Friar had said there weren't many Hufflepuffs inside the hall because most of them were waiting outside of it to see Phoenix and tell the boy's parents all about how they'd had really good dreams and were all in such excellent spirits thanks to the toddler. Since Phoenix couldn't eat they couldn't give the boy some treat for what he done, but Scorpius and Albus received numerous babysitting offers as well as offers to help them with schoolwork should they need it. They all were very glad Phoenix was living so close to their dormitory and they were definitely looking forward to the next time he decided to share the happiness so to speak.

Phoenix, for his part, just took it all in stride, glad that they were as happy as he was.

)

When the letter hit his empty plate Scorpius recognized his mother's stationary right away. He considered just sticking it in his pocket and reading it later, while he was by himself, but he didn't know how long the happy vibe Phoenix had given him earlier would last. It would be best to take the first blow while he was still on a happy high and in too good of a mood to really feel it if whatever his mother had written was bad news. It probably was bad news, but he couldn't help but feel optimistic enough that he asked Gabrielle to take Phoenix from him so that he could open the letter up.

And he did have Phoenix, Scorpius thought as Gabrielle took the boy from him, the booster seat useless at the moment since the toddler had refused to stay still long enough to be put in it earlier. He was in a stay close and cuddle mood and that was that apparently, which would be good as he might need some close time afterwards.

Opening the letter Scorpius took in the fact that it was two pieces of parchment which was at least half of what he normally received when it came to his letters from home. It was signed 'Love Mother' though, and that was a good sign.

Now to actually read it.

He'd give his mother credit for not beating around the bush, she came right out and admitted that she hadn't written to him sooner because she hadn't known how to respond in a way that wouldn't come back to bite her in her rear later. Apparently his father was currently in the denial stage, and his mother made it clear that it would be best if he weren't to open any letters from the man until she sent a letter giving him the okay there.

The letter went on to state that she believed his statement that it wasn't Phoenix that was causing his feelings for Albus, but that she was having a much harder time wrapping her mind around the idea that Albus's feelings for him weren't a result of their son. His mother was really worried about the pain and suffering he would endure if the relationship was to end later if Albus came to the conclusion that he wasn't truly interested in him and it had all been Phoenix. Scorpius could understand that worry, he was the only male to ever attract Albus's attention, and in all honest he probably never would have stood a chance if not for that fate changing day in Borgin and Burkes. He'd asked himself plenty of times if he could trust what he saw in Albus's eyes, if he could believe that this wasn't all some dream that would have Albus waking up one day and breaking his heart with the news that it had all just been a phase or their son's influence.

Even when Phoenix wasn't around Albus looked and truly saw him now, but that could end too. Even normal, brought about naturally love could fade or die. To forgo what he could have with Albus, based on what ifs, wasn't going to happen. Perhaps that's what some would do, but he knew his love to be real and true and he would fight for any chance he had. He had balls enough for that.

Scorpius was grateful that she didn't bring up Gabrielle, not the least because he could feel his best friend's eye drilling into him. She'd want to see the letter and he'd rather it not upset her more than it already would on his behalf. His maternal grandparents had been informed, while his paternal ones had not since they were still in an upset about Phoenix's birth and had still to address that issue, much less this latest one.

The rest of the letter dealt with other things, no doubt her way of trying to overshadow the rest of the letter's contents, and that he just skimmed over that for the time being. He was okay and didn't need the distraction.

What he did need was right beside him. "Trade you."

Handing Phoenix over Gabrielle took the letter and turned her attention to reading its contents while Scorpius cuddled his son close, kissing the boy's downy head.

)

Completely unaware of the fact that Scorpius had gotten a letter too, Albus's full attention was currently on the one he'd received from his mum's owl, one of the last to arrive for the day. Looking at the letter and knowing what it must contain, Albus couldn't help but think his son had had impeccable timing in the whole releasing his happiness thing, because otherwise this would be freaking him out a hell of lot more than it was.

Opening the letter he wasn't surprised to see that his dad had let his mum do the writing, that was standard, but his dad had signed the bottom so it had the man's seal of approval so to speak. And forcing his eyes back up to the top to start at the beginning Albus began to read, the first part a confirmation that they'd gotten his letter. He was then informed that apparently Louis and Domi had predicted he and Scorpius would end up a couple even before they'd headed back to Hogwarts and had informed their older cousins of their suspicions. Said cousins had started a betting poll and their parents had all gotten wind and involved, naturally. Apparently the older generations had been quite convinced the two siblings had just been having a severe blonde moment, not that they'd dared put it that way, but the letters home had slowly convinced them otherwise. It seemed that Lily, Hugo and Rosie's letters home had all mentioned how close he and Scorpius were becoming, and then they'd added his own letters home to the mix and had decided Louis and Domi had been onto something.

According to his mum his parents had been bracing for the last letter he'd sent them for the last month and had planned to take offence if he'd waited until Christmas.

That reminded him, it was the third week of November already, which meant that Christmas would be coming sooner than he'd realized. Their first major holiday as a family. That would be interesting.

Further down in the letter his mum expressed the family's concern that perhaps Phoenix had something to do with his sudden interest in Scorpius, and that he should think that through before things became too serious between them. And if he believed, after that careful consideration, that his romantic feelings for Scorpius were real and his own, then neither she nor his father would have any cause or right to interfere in the relationship. They'd accepted Scorpius into the family when Phoenix had been born and that was that.

After finishing the rest of the letter Albus tucked it away in his robe pocket, his mind still made up where Scorpius was concerned. Lily had been asked about Friday and she'd double checked with her roommates before confirming that she and her roommates would be happy to babysit Phoenix for them. He'd given the excuse that he and Scorpius wanted to get ahead on their readings, and just have a break from being parents, but he was pretty sure she at least suspected what they were hoping to get up to. She wouldn't spread it around though, not something this personal.

Looking across the room towards Scorpius he saw that his boyfriend was busy with Phoenix while Gabrielle scowled over a letter she had gotten beside him. Given her family that probably wasn't a surprise, especially since they would have heard about the interest Fred had in her by now. It must be driving her twin brothers crazy. He was actually a little surprised they hadn't shown up at Hogsmeade by now to try and put a stop to it by going after his cousin. Unless they had and Fred wasn't telling, but he doubted that. The man did like to brag after all.

Turning his attention back to the meal at hand Albus ate without really thinking about what he was eating, lost in his thoughts. And after he'd finished his breakfast he headed over to the Slytherin table, enough people gone already that he figured no one would care if he trespassed on the other house's territory. He got a few looks but no comments when he took a seat beside Scorpius, draping one around his boyfriend's waist while he asked Gabrielle what was in her letter than she'd frowned so much over it.

It was his turn to scowl when she informed him who the letter had actually belonged to. "What did they say?"

Rather than answer Scorpius freed up one hand and retrieved the letter, handing it over before turning his attention back to stroking Phoenix's back.

Reading it over Albus figured that it was actually better than he'd been expecting, though he was a little annoyed to see that Scorpius's mother was of the opinion that his feelings for her son were probably a result of Phoenix. That his own mum had asked him to consider the same was okay because she was his mum, but he…okay, Astoria Malfoy was Scorpius's mum and she had every right to want to protect her son too. Crap.

Looking over the top of the pages Albus met Scorpius's gaze, questions on his face that he didn't want to ask because they had an audience and he'd rather not be dumped in public if Mrs. Malfoy's words had changed Scorpius's mind about them.

Obviously understanding what Albus wasn't saying Scorpius turned and handed Phoenix to Gabrielle before reaching out with both hands to draw Albus's face close so that he could press their lips together.

His heart was just as unchanged.

)

Note: So the next chapter will be the one numerous reviewers have been asking for for quite some time. I'm going to format things so that anyone who isn't interested in reading about Scorpius and Albus's first time together can skip the chapter and not miss anything.


	54. Bond of Lovemaking

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters end up in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy.

Note: As promised this update revolved around Scorpius and Albus's first time together. For those of you who don't like smut you can skip over this chapter and not miss anything.

Bond of Lovemaking

Something was going on and Phoenix couldn't figure it out what that something was. All week his mummy and da had been acting very weird, constantly doing that thing with their mouths and giving each other hugs all the time. The lights inside them were very weird too, constantly meshing and going unexpectedly bright so that his eyes almost hurt to look at them. Not to mention the fact that he'd given away his extra happiness only a little while ago and already he was starting to feel a little full!

He didn't know what to make of that either.

They'd been playing with him a lot recently, and kept telling him he was going to do something called a 'sleepover'. He didn't know what that was but apparently it had something to do with Funny One. Why his toys and stuff had to be put in a bag and carried to the room with lots of people in it confused him too, especially since this wasn't what usually happened. Usually he wasn't allowed more than one toy, and even then he was usually just given one of the shiny things put beside the round things the food came on.

He was even more confused when they he was given to Funny One when it was time to go because that had never happened before either. He always stayed with his mummy and da when it was dark above them. She was being given the bag with his stuff, which was good because he wanted his toys with him, but why were they hugging and kissing him and giving him such weird looks?

Why were they doing that thing with their hands that they only did when one of them was going away for a little while?

Why were they going in the direction of their home and he wasn't? Where was he going? Why wasn't he going with his mummy and da?

He didn't know what was going on, Phoenix thought with a frown, but he didn't like it one little bit.

)

Holding hands for comfort both Albus and Scorpius felt absolutely horrible all the way back towards their rooms, feeling like the worst parents ever for foisting their little boy on Lily of all people so that they could spend the night alone. They could have at least asked Rosie, even if she was already going mental in preparation for the N.E.W.T.s they wouldn't actually have to take until summer. What if Lily didn't pay enough attention to the toddler, or decided to play a game that she thought was funny but was in fact life threatening? Or what if Phoenix started to cry and want them? She might think he should have to tough it out which was absolutely absurd since no one and nothing was more important than their only child's happiness and if they had to go months without having sex even once then they would just have to suck it up.

"Are you mentally freaking out as much as I am right now?"

"Possibly more." Scorpius answered, tightening his grip on Albus's hand. "This is even worse than when we went out to dinner without him."

"He'll be fine…Lily is much more trustworthy than she often seems and there will be other girls there to supervise."

"It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself of that as much as me."

The grin Albus gave him said as much.

Drawing strength from each other they continued to walk, finally arriving at their door.

Stepping inside Albus closed the door behind them and then drew Scorpius into his arms, the kiss he laid on the other man's lips scorching hot and eager and guaranteed to take their minds off Phoenix for the foreseeable future. They'd been on pins and needles all week, knowing that this was coming, and the anticipation had been damn near killing them both. That they hadn't ended up naked together before now was more a testament to how hard it was to get laid when you had a kid than their willpower or common sense.

Snogging him back eagerly Scorpius was more than happy to be pressed up against the door, butterflies doing a wild dance in his stomach at the tugs of fabric he felt as Albus undid his shirt with quick jerks that threatened to pull the buttons right off. And not wanting to wait either, dear Merlin but he'd been waiting YEARS for this, Scorpius lifted trembling hands and then went to work undoing the Gryffindor's shirt in turn.

When both shirts and ties were undone the two teenagers stepped back only long enough to catch their breath and yank off the offending articles of clothing, which they tossed off to the side so that they wouldn't get in the way. Then they were back in each other's arms, propelling each other towards the bedroom with shoes and socks clumsily discarded along the way.

By the time they'd gotten to the bed they had undone their belts and trousers, Albus removing the last articles of clothing easily while Scorpius watched, too busy drinking in the sight to think about doing the same. Naturally Albus preened a little, he had a damn fine body and knew it, but he wanted to see all of Scorpius and get them naked onto his bed too.

Moving in Albus watched Scorpius's mouth drop open in a large O when he reached out to help the Slytherin undress, the man's skin noticeably flushing from the tips of the blonde's ears down to his pretty, formerly pale chest. Ridiculously turned on by that, who every heard of a blush fetish, anyway, Albus couldn't take his eyes off Scorpius as the man stepped out of the clothes that had pooled at his feet, the both of them naked now.

Since he was pretty sure his legs wouldn't be able to hold him up much longer Scorpius got onto the bed, bashfully holding out a hand to Albus in a silent request for him to follow.

More than happy to join Scorpius on the bed Albus did precisely that, careful to put his weight on his arms so that he wouldn't squish the blonde as he leaned in for more heated kisses, knowing that this would go a lot smoother if they didn't both overthink things. Plus their previous make out sessions had given them both a good understanding of how the other liked to be touched, the two teenagers putting that knowledge to very good use as they moved to their sides so that they could continue to snog and touch each other as much as they wanted.

Foreplay was going to be short this time around though, they'd waited too long for this and they'd had plenty of 'foreplay' during the week as far as their bodies were concerned. They wanted to go all the way this time and both were in breathless agreement that they would leave taking it slow until the next time.

If they didn't take the edge off now, so to speak, they'd spontaneously combust.

Of course once they'd agreed on that point they were faced with new territory for them, which had their heads clearing for the first time in a while. They were about to become real lovers, to join their bodies, and this was Albus's first time with a guy and Scorpius first time period.

Struggling to be amused by the fact that his hand actually shook a little as he retrieved the bottle of lube from the bedside table, Albus had to take a couple of calming breaths before he turned his attention back to Scorpius with what he hoped was a reassuring look.

Seeing through the man's bravado Scorpius smiled, warmed by the fact that Albus was nervous too. That he wasn't the only one 'freaking out' inside. They were in this together, he thought as he took Albus's other hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of it.

Grinning like an idiot over the cute and so Scorpius gesture, Albus forced himself to get his head back in the game and made it clear that if what he was doing hurt, or Scorpius wanted him to stop, he expected to be told. No suffering in silence so to speak. Scorpius promised to do so, Albus kissing the blonde in thanks and for strength before he took another deep breath and applied the slick liquid to his fingers, praying desperately that this would be easier than he thought it was going to be. And it was, Albus realized in surprise a short while later as he added a second finger, Scorpius's ass proving to be a lot more accommodating than his own had been when he'd experimented earlier in the week to see what it was like.

Scorpius struggled to get air into his lungs, which was proving surprisingly difficult since all he could think was that Albus's fingers were inside of him, prepping him, preparing him so that Albus could-oh man but it did sort of hurt but it felt so good too so that he moaned in response, his hips jerking up automatically to try and take the other man's fingers deeper.

Groaning right along with him Albus informed Scorpius that he had a pretty strong ass, giving one of the cheeks a teasing pinch as he tried to use humor as a way to distract himself from sticking something other than his fingers in the blonde's ass.

Squirming, torn between wanting more and less of the fingers moving inside him, Scorpius didn't think about what he was saying as he panted out the fact that he probably felt looser than normal because he'd been preparing his arse all week because the book had stated that it would take less prep time once the muscles had adapted to being used and stretched.

Freezing at the mental blow, Albus couldn't help but picture exactly what Scorpius was describing, the man's overly long showers suddenly making a lot more sense. And thinking about it had him dropping his head against Scorpius's chest, embarrassingly close to embarrassing himself.

"Albus?"

"I'm okay." Was Albus's weak response as he shook his head ever so slightly. "I just need a minute or I'm going to come on you as opposed to in you."

"Oh."

Lifting his head up to meet Scorpius's gaze Albus felt his insides go all gooey at the flushed, well rumpled look his boyfriend was currently sporting. Which helped him get himself under control a little, he realized, since he wanted Scorpius to keep looking so shyly happy and soft towards him. And spurned on by that and the knowledge that this was what they both wanted more than anything, Albus went back to what he'd been doing, carefully working his fingers back inside Scorpius, doing it as slowly as possible until they both couldn't stand to wait another moment and Scorpius was threatening to punch him of he didn't hurry up.

More than willing to listen, Albus removed his fingers and then poured more lube onto his hand so that he could prepare himself, getting even harder as he watched Scorpius watch him do it with such hot longing.

"I…I want to do that…next time."

"You're killing me here." Groaning at the idea Albus leaned forward for a long, open mouth kiss to distract them both from what he was doing, pulling back when it was time because he wanted Scorpius to be free to warn him if he was doing something wrong.

Settling more firmly between Scorpius's thighs Albus lifted the other man's legs a little higher so that he had better access and then keeping his eyes on Scorpius's face reached down and carefully guided himself inside of his lover for the first time.

Eyes widening Scorpius bit down hard on his bottom lip as he whimpered and squirmed, unable to believe what was going on, his body not quite sure what to make of it all. But as long as he looked at Albus it made perfect sense, Scorpius thought as he relaxed a little, the caring and desire on the man's face all that mattered. If his body could bring Albus pleasure than that was what was important, especially since being chosen by the man of his dreams to be his lover-well it didn't get better than that, did it?

Wanting to do some whimpering of his own once he was fully seated, Albus fought the urge to thrust and claim the tight, warm channel that was currently blowing his mind with the pleasure signals it was sending to his overheated and blown brain. He was never so grateful than he was when Scorpius told him it was okay for him to move, both stunned and thrown by the electric pleasure that came with every movement of their bodies as they learned how to move in time with the other. Mostly they were uncoordinated as hell, and neither had the endurance to last long given the week long buildup of anticipation and make out sessions, but neither thought that as they sped headlong towards their orgasms.

Brain working just enough for him to belatedly remember some of what he'd read in those books he'd gotten, Albus reached between them and wrapped his hand around Scorpius's erection, jerking the man off in time with his thrusts which had Scorpius go from being close to flying over the edge in seconds, the Slytherin's nails digging grooves into Albus's bare back as he came hard and clutched onto the other man for dear life.

The bite of Scorpius's nails, the muscles all contracting and squeezing his own erection, and the fact that he was a teenager with currently fried controls had Albus losing it completely then, the Gryffindor thrusting hard and deep into Scorpius as he sought his own completion and finding it shortly with a cry of triumph that was followed by a groan that was Scorpius's name as he collapsed on top of the Slytherin.

Not that Scorpius minded in the slightest.

)

Hours later Albus and Scorpius both agreed that it was their teenage hormones that was responsible for the fact that they'd made love twice and were really only napping now, sort of hoping that they could do it again if Scorpius's rear was up to it, but it was after midnight and they were starting to drift into true slumber, cuddling close, when they got an unexpected visitor.

Lily's patronus snuck up on them, jumping up and onto the bed so that they both nearly bashed their heads together in their haste to put some space between them as they stared at the silvery fog cat who'd began to speak in Lily's voice, which had both of them yanking up bed sheets to cover their lower halves instinctually.

"I am so, so, sorry, but I'm on my way to bring Phoenix back to you guys. He's been asking for you for the last three hours and he's getting really upset. We tried bribing and distracting him but he's not going for it anymore and tears started coming and I don't want him to make himself sick-and dammit if he has another growth spurt while he's with me everyone will blame me! So ya, I'm walking very, very slowly, but I'll get to your place eventually. Sorry."

The two watched the patronus disappear and then turned to look at each other ruefully.

"Our son the cockblock."

Punching Albus in the shoulder Scorpius scowled at him for calling their son such a vulgar thing.

"Ow. But he is, in his own, adorable way." Leaning over Albus stole a quick kiss before pointing out that their 'marriage' would never work if there was no sex. That was definitely a requisite to them staying happy and not constantly horny.

Rolling his eyes Scorpius flushed and pointed out that their 'marriage' wouldn't last if they made their son miserable either. And they should get dressed and meet Lily part way so that she didn't have to walk any farther than she had to, he added. She'd been doing them a favor in the first place after all.

"I'll go get him, you stay here and keep the bed warm."

Well aware of the real reason Albus thought he should stay, Scorpius's blush deepened but he didn't argue as he was sensible enough to know that he had a point. And besides that, he really didn't want to face Lily when he wasn't sure he could walk a straight line. She wouldn't be able to resist teasing him and that was not something he wanted to remember in relation to the greatest night of his life thus far.

Pleased that Scorpius was willing to cooperate Albus quickly threw on some clothes and then stole a bunch of kisses, not wanting to leave but finally resigning himself to it as he promised to hurry back. If the fates were merciful Phoenix had worn himself out throwing his fits and would be willing to go to bed once they got back.

Sticking the boy with Lily and her roommates had probably been too much new for the boy to handle, Albus hypothesized as he walked down the deserted hallways. Maybe all Phoenix wanted was familiar surroundings and the reassurance of having him parents in yelling distance. Or it could be the lack of box house in Lily's room; that was a possibility too.

Either way he was glad Phoenix wasn't crying when he spotted the two of them coming towards him, Lily carrying Phoenix in her arms. As soon as he was noticed the formerly quiet hallway echoed with the yells for 'Mummy', making it very clear that not only had Lily not been exaggerating Phoenix's demand to be returned to his parents but also making it clear the toddler hadn't exhausted his vocal cords yet.

Shaking his head Albus picked up his pace and took Phoenix from his grateful sister, the boy's response a demand to know where his Da was.

"We'll go see him as soon as I apologize to your aunt for your bad behavior." Albus told the boy, who just pouted back at him. "Sorry about this, Lil. We thought he'd be fine because it was you, but I guess he's still too little for a sleepover."

Waving aside his apologies Lily felt bad enough about wrecking her brother's evening with Scorpius to forgo the teasing she would have usually engaged in. Instead she just wished them both a good night and then headed back the way she'd come, ridiculously glad that she didn't have children of her own yet.

Ignoring Phoenix's demands to be taken to his da Albus watched his sister until she was out of sight, very thankful that she'd opted to let him off the hook so easily. Cuddling the toddler close to his chest Albus waited until he couldn't hear her footsteps any longer before he turned on his heels and start walking back the way they'd come, Phoenix pleased by the direction they were going in and the fact that they were together.

All the way back to their rooms Phoenix kept up a steady stream of gibberish, only a few words understandable to Albus, but the boy's meaning was clear. He did NOT appreciate the fact that he'd been dumped on his aunt and he expected his mummy and da to shower him with love and affection to make it up for him. And he wanted his box house ASAP. That was non-negotiable.

Shaking his head over the whole thing Albus let the boy rant and rave, hopelessly amused even though this was not how he'd planned to spend this portion of his evening. But that was what you got for touching something in the shop of Borgin and Burkes, he told himself with a chuckle and more head shaking.

Since Phoenix was asking for Scorpius more than his boxes, which was a testament to how much the boy loved his da, Albus headed straight for their bedroom once they got back to their rooms, smiling over the fact that in his absence Scorpius had moved to his own bed and was motioning for them to join him.

Cuddling their son on the bed they'd recently made love in had obviously struck Scorpius as fundamentally wrong. It struck him as wrong too, now that he thought about it.

Handing Phoenix over to Scorpius Albus climbed into bed beside his boyfriend, snuggling close while their son began his rant all over again since Scorpius hadn't been around to hear it the first time.

And when he was done giving his da a rundown of why he should never be separated from them again Phoenix smiled in satisfaction and then demanded that he be taken to his box house.

His parents were happy to oblige.


	55. Mummy Bonding

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Note: The song Albus sings Phoenix is one that only someone of my age or a big Robert Downey Jr fan would recognize. I always loved it, proven by the fact that it's been over a decade since I saw the movie and I still remember the words heh.

Mummy Bonding

Waking up with a long, well satisfied yawn, Albus grinned sleepily up at the ceiling before turning his head to the side so that he could look at the still sleeping Slytherin with very bad bedhead. In fact, he'd never seen Scorpius's hair look such a mess before. His hands had certainly tangled it up good, the Gryffindor thought with a smug little smirk, trying and failing to brush it down. He was tempted to wake the other man up, they still had a bit of time until Phoenix was bound to stir and want their attention once again, but thought better of it after some thoughtful contemplation. Scorpius needed his sleep, they'd had quite the night after all.

Unable to stay in bed for long, especially if he had to keep his hands to himself, Albus headed for the shower and then got dressed, amused to see that Scorpius was still out when he checked. On the one hand he wanted to be around when the other man woke up, it was their first morning after becoming lovers after all, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he should stick with his original plan which involved sneaking out to get them breakfast from the school's house elves so that Scorpius didn't have to face their peers before lunch. The Slytherin was never at his best in the morning, and today…well breakfast in bed would probably sound pretty damn appealing and earn him lots of good boyfriend points.

Phoenix hadn't originally been part of that plan, but it was adaptable in that area.

Heading for the boy's room Albus wasn't surprised to see that Phoenix was not in his bed, the toddler having gotten out of it sometime during the night so that he could go sleep in his box house. Albus also took note of the crayons that had been scattered over the floor, making him watch his step as he wove through them to get to his son. Getting the sleeping toddler out of the box proved somewhat of a challenge, but he managed it well enough, relieved to see that the boy didn't look any bigger than he had the day before. He was not going to leave the kid behind to wake up Scorpius, and wrapping his son up in a blanket just to be safe Albus headed towards the bedroom door with the boy in his arms.

Of course naturally Phoenix couldn't just stay asleep and cut his mummy a break after so rudely interrupting his parents' big night earlier. Oh no, he was waking up before Albus had even reached out to grasp the handle, the boy beginning to squirm in the confining blankets.

Trying to lull the boy back to sleep Albus began to sing one of Phoenix's favorite songs, which his Aunt Hermione had once sung to him and his cousins when he was little.

_"Mr_. _Hug-A-Bug_, Hug-A-Bug, Hug-A-Bug _Bear_. When you try and find him, well, he won't be there. But when you're feeling blue, and a little bit scared, he'll be right beside you, Mr. Hug-A-Bug Bear."

And it worked…for as long as Albus was willing to keep singing it over and over again while staying still except for the rocking. Eventually he tried to stop and of course Phoenix took that as his cue to wake up that much more, ignoring Albus's attempts to lull him back to sleep and instead started pushing the blanket around him down as he tried to get free.

Sighing, Albus let Phoenix have his way, tossing the now discarded blanket over one shoulder while keeping the boy in his arms since he didn't want the feet of the footsie pajamas to get crayoned somehow. This particular outfit was one Scorpius's mum had bought the boy and it was not to get wrecked under penalty of them being labeled bad parents. The only reason the boy was wearing the outfit now was because they'd been so tired the night before he'd just stuck the kid in the first outfit he'd pulled out.

"All right, since you're up anyway let's get you out of this outfit and into something you can get dirty."

Setting the boy beside his dresser Albus told him to stay put and then pulled out a shirt.

"NO!"

"No?" Albus repeated, looking down at Phoenix questioningly.

"Me no wear. Me wear one like dis." Phoenix motioned with his hands over his head, trying to imitate a hood of some sort.

Cocking his head to the side Albus tried to process what he was hearing. Because Phoenix had just spoken a couple sentences and every word had been completely understandable. The pronunciation had been of on 'this', and the boy hadn't known what to call the hooded jumper he apparently wanted…but that only made sense really. There might have been no grammar to speak of, but there hadn't been a single 'baby' word in the bunch. He'd been able to follow along no problem!

"Since when did you ditch the baby talk, Buddy?" Crouching down Albus studied the boy closely, trying to figure out how his son had gone from knowing only a handful of words to speaking sentences like it was nothing.

Not knowing what his mummy wanted Phoenix just stared back with an equally confused look on his little face.

His face going thoughtful as he contemplated the possibilities, Albus got up and rifled through the drawer until he found a hoodie that he thought would satisfy the toddler. "This okay?"

Phoenix nodded his head imperially and held his arms up for it.

Grinning Albus retrieved a small pair of trousers and after getting Phoenix's nod of approval again went to work removing the footsie pajamas which wasn't easy given that the boy had decided it was a game to wiggle and squirm to make it that much more difficult. But Phoenix was enjoying it so much Albus just smiled and played along, finally switching the clothes around and adding little socks and shoes to the ensemble.

Lifting Phoenix up Albus showed the boy his reflection in the mirror, asking him if he looked okay now.

"Uh huh."

"Good. Now do you want to go see the house elves with mummy and get your da some breakfast?"

"Elfies, elfies, elfies!"

"Roger that. Let's go then."

)

The halls were deserted as they made their way through them, which was a good thing since Albus didn't want to explain the reason behind his trip to the kitchens. Technically speaking he wasn't even supposed to know about the entrance and he had a feeling the Head Master would not be pleased to learn that the Potters and Weasleys had been visiting the kitchens for years getting extra snacks and treats when they wanted to celebrate or had a food craving that just wouldn't wait until the next, scheduled meal. People called Weasley men bottomless pits for a reason.

As they walked Phoenix sang the Mr. Hug-A-Bug song to both of them, stumbling over some of the words but proving that he did in fact have the simple song memorized. That fact almost had Albus turning around a few times, wanting to share this discover with Scorpius, but he knew the man wouldn't be awake enough to appreciate it fully anyway. Once Scorpius was awake and had some tea and breakfast in him they'd show him what Phoenix could do.

When there wasn't tea or food in his mouth to choke on in surprise, Albus informed Phoenix with a grin.

But Phoenix wasn't paying attention to him. "Kitty Man! Meow, meow."

Looking in the direction Phoenix was pointing Albus did his best not to so much as smile, hoping that Filch hadn't heard what he'd just been called. He'd never seen any sign that the old man had a sense of humor, or knew how to be kind to another human being that wasn't Dolores Umbridge.

But Phoenix didn't know that, and when Filch was within arm's length of them, mouth opening to demand to know why they were out and about already, the little boy repeated his earlier announcement, waving at Filch quite happily.

"What did he-Kitty Man?"

"Kitty Man!" Phoenix agreed with a nod. "Where kitty?"

When Filch just stared Albus gave the older man a little verbal nudge. "He-uhm-wants to know where Mrs. Norris is."

Not at all used to having a normal conversation, if that's what a conversation with a toddler could be called, Filch stammered and stumbled a little as he gruffly stated that his pet was most likely off hunting breakfast at the morning, and why did the boy want to know?

"You can see Mrs. Norris later." Albus translated, trying not to think about what the cat was currently eating. "He likes animals, remember?"

Phoenix's bottom lip poked out a little in disappointment before he turned his attention back to Filch, studying him thoughtfully before lifting up his arms as he reached towards the man. "Hug!"

"Hug? You want to-Filch does not hug." Tightening his arms protectively around Phoenix Albus apologized to the caretaker for bothering him and then started to move away, Phoenix screeching in protest and squirming as he tried to get at Filch, Albus nearly dropping him in the process.

"I'll…I'll give the boy a hug if he wants one so badly."

Albus was aware that his jaw was on the ground, but hell if he could lift it up. He just stared in shock for several moments, the flush on the old man's cheeks, paired with Phoenix's squirming, bringing him back to himself enough that he very slowly moved in closer and held the boy out to Filch, trusting that he could snatch his son away if necessary. And if the man dropped him…well he'd make another heroic dive AND make it his mission in life to see the man fired.

Taking the boy carefully, he'd never held a toddler before, Filch found himself unable to look away from the big green eyes staring so delightedly back at him. In some corner of his mind he knew they were Potter eyes, which should have just reminded him of all the trouble that family had gotten into while at the school, but there was just something so arresting about this pair…it soothed and warmed him in a way he couldn't put into words.

Staring back at him Phoenix smiled, his grin getting wider as he watched the man's colors flare up and become brighter. He hadn't liked how the man looked earlier, it had reminded him too much of Kreacher. He didn't want the man's colors to be dark the way they had been, or go out like the creature who'd lived with them at his other house. Kreacher had gone somewhere far away, he didn't want the Kitty Man to go away too.

"I like you, Kitty Man." Phoenix told him, patting the stooped shoulder that was within his reach.

Albus knew how much his son liked his little nicknames, but for the sake of everyone the Gryffindor pointed at the caretaker and informed Phoenix that the man's name was Mr. Filch, adding the 'Mr' since Filch was taking this all remarkably well and maybe the added respect would make this somehow less awkward than it already was.

The set of Phoenix's jaw as the toddler corrected his mummy about what the kitty man's name was a clear indication that the Weasley stubbornness had kicked in and he wasn't calling Filch anything but the name he'd given him any time soon.

While Albus blew out a sound of frustration Filch continued to watch the boy who'd gone back to looking at him with those knowing eyes. In some corner of his mind the caretaker knew he should be telling the boy to call him Filch, but he didn't know how to talk to a toddler and he didn't want to upset the boy or make him cry. He was such a sweet boy after all, to want to talk to an old man like him. And the boy wasn't like other kids either, he was special. Made of only good stuff. He'd read about it in the paper.

Remembering a thought he'd had after reading up on Soul Children, just out of curiosity, Filch hugged the boy a little tighter against his chest as he asked what the Potter and Malfoy families would do if the boy couldn't do wand magic.

Blinking in surprise Albus was about to ask why Filch would care to ask, this was Filch he was talking to after all, when it occurred to him exactly why the man would ask. Would care about that. "Technically he's our son, the ability to do wand magic should be in his blood. Probably. If he can't then we'll probably have to homeschool him unless he stops aging visibly by then, Scorpius would be good at that. Either way he's special enough that he doesn't need to be able to use a wand, though I hope he can."

"The Malfoys won't like that."

"Right, because we Potters care so much about making the Malfoys happy." With the exception of Scorpius, Albus mentally added, that sexy blonde's happiness very important to him.

That was true, Filch acknowledged, relaxing a little as he reminded himself that the little boy cuddling against him was the grandson of The Chosen One. That alone meant acceptance from the Wizarding World. No one would tease or torment the little boy if he couldn't do proper wand magic.

Lifting his head Phoenix took a long look to make sure the man's color had improved enough, pleased to see that there were only good colors for him to see this time. Giving his Kitty Man's cheek a smacking kiss to demonstrate his pleasure over the improvement Phoenix smiled brightly up at him before turning to face his mummy once more, holding out his hands in a demand to be retrieved so that they could be on their way once more.

Struggling with all his might to keep a straight face Albus took his son back from the bright red Filch and holding the boy against his chest stammered out their good byes, the Gryffindor biting down on his bottom lip to keep from laughing when Phoenix waved and said good bye to his 'Kitty Man'.

Good byes made Albus got the two of them out of there, only just able to hold back his laughter until he was sure they were out of earshot.

It was a near thing though.

)

By the time they'd arrived at their destination Albus had himself under control, both of them wearing big grins as they came to a stop in front of the fruit painting. Tickling the pear Albus smiled at Phoenix's reaction when the door to the kitchen was revealed, making a note to let the boy do the ticking next time if possible. He wasn't sure that Phoenix knew his fruit after all, especially since the kid didn't eat anything. They could work on that though, especially since Phoenix's vocabulary was currently improving by leaps and bounds.

Heading down the stairs Albus wasn't surprised to see the kitchen's controlled chaos, immediately feeling a little guilty for interrupting the elves who were hard at work, especially since they all stopped dead as soon as they noticed his and Phoenix's presence. They'd all been introduced to the boy already, a process that had taken hours because there was so many of them, but they again all hurried towards them like a herd of lemmings, their work forgotten.

Damn, he should have left Phoenix behind. He didn't want them to get in trouble on his account.

"Hi there, sorry to bother you guys. I was just hoping that we could get some muffins or something, Scorpius and I won't be going to breakfast and…if it's too much trouble don't-"

"No trouble, no trouble Albus Potter!" The house elves called out to him, the older, more mature workers heading back to their work stations to put together a small basket of food for the Gryffindor while the younger ones had to be called back to work unless they were already done their assigned chores. Those elves stayed right where they were.

Amused, Albus declined their offers of snacks and simply took a seat on the floor with Phoenix in his lap, not about to let the boy out of his grasp given the risk of injury or destruction of the meal the house elves were putting together.

"Where my elf?"

"Hmmm?"

Phoenix repeated his question, adding on the gesture of having his eyes covered with his hands before pulling them away with a look of surprise.

Recognizing the gesture Albus asked Phoenix if he was asking about Tomo, the boy's face scrunching up in consideration before slowly nodding, the boy obviously not a hundred percent sure that the house elf he meant was Tomo but was pretty sure.

"The elf who wore a dress in our other house? That house elf?"

More consideration followed by much more confident nodding.

"Ah. Huh. I should have figured you'd start to miss her eventually." Muttering under his breath Albus thought over the request. He didn't think the Head Master would have a problem with the house elf coming by for a visit…especially since house elves could get into the school without permission. Or at least Dobby and Kreacher had been able to while his parents had been at Hogwarts.

"We'll see about having Tomo come see you, okay?"

"Ogay."


	56. Da Bonding

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the storyline. Thanks for reading.

Da Bonding

Scorpius never woke up right away unless there was some sort of emergency to deal with, so when he did start to clue into his surroundings he was only vaguely aware of the toddler bouncing on the bed and Albus's voice telling the boy not to bounce on the bed because that was not the way to wake 'Da' up. Struggling to wake up faster as he shifted up to a sitting position, Scorpius quickly became aware of the slight pain in his rear, which woke him up a heck of a lot faster than the bouncing or talking.

"Hello, Sleepyhead."

Turning his head towards Albus's voice Scorpius didn't have time to stutter out a reply, the kiss Albus gave him the sort that made him just want to melt into a pile of warm, happy goo.

Not about to be ignored Phoenix crawled into Scorpius's lap and started bouncing there, the boy pleased when his da turned his attention to holding him. "Hi, Da!"

"Hi back." A chuckle in his voice Scorpius lifted Phoenix up so that he could give the boy a quick kiss on the forehead before telling him that it really wasn't nice to bounce on people, particularly when they weren't completely awake or being snogged.

"Bouncing fun."

Not sure what to say to that Scorpius shook his head, watching Albus leave for a moment and then return with a tray laden with what looked like breakfast. "Where did you get all that?"

"Ask Phoenix what we did while you were asleep." Was Albus's cryptic response, the amusement in the man's eyes tipping Scorpius off that something was up.

Looking down at their son the Slytherin asked what they'd done today, expecting a confused look or a few words of mostly gibberish.

"We see Kitty Man! No kitty, me sad. Mummy tickle pear, and we see elfies. We gets food for Da too!"

"He…I understood all that! And they were sorta sentences, not just a word or two!" Though he was a little confused, asking for clarification as to just who Kitty Man was and why had Albus tickled a pear of all things?

With a grin Albus explained who Phoenix had been talking about, as well as the way to get to the kitchens.

Desperately grateful that Filch was apparently willing to let Phoenix call him such a ridiculously cutsie name without complaint, and who could've have seen that one coming, Scorpius asked if Phoenix had been talking in sentences earlier since Albus had prompted the boy to explain what they'd been up to while he was asleep.

Shuffling over so that he was sitting beside Scorpius with the tray on his lap, the Slytherin's was occupied, Albus lifted up a cup of pumpkin juice he'd conjured up for himself in a toast. "It seems that he decided that last night didn't upset him enough to make him grow, but it did convince him that it would be a good idea to expand his vocabulary so that he can yell at us better when we aren't paying him enough attention."

"Oh." Silence as he mulled that over. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Albus grinned and snuck another quick kiss. "Well that depends on what we're doing when he decides to start a conversation."

Deciding that he needed caffeine in his system ASAP Scorpius was about to retrieve the cup of tea waiting for him on the tray when it occurred to him that it would end really badly if Phoenix started bouncing again while he was trying to drink the hot liquid. So instead he asked the boy if he wanted to go and play in his box house while they ate their breakfast, Phoenix seeming to consider his options before he announced he wanted his house.

As soon as Scorpius set Phoenix down on the floor the boy was off and running out the door, returning a moment later with just his head and shoulders visible. "You stay here?" He wanted to know, his tone suspicious.

"We stay here." They assured him.

"Ogay." And off he went, the sound of his door slamming open reaching their ears.

"We seriously have the most adorable son to ever exist on this planet."

Sipping his tea Scorpius smiled around the rim, hopelessly in love with both his men and their combined adorableness.

)

Eating was a lot easier to do without the toddler around to demand their attention, their respective breakfasts cooling before they were done only because they kept touching and snogging, unable to keep their hands and mouths off each other now that they'd gone all the way. Both were eager to practice and improve on their skills after all, common sense only reining them in enough that they still had their clothes on when someone banged on their front door very, very hard.

Both men flinched in surprise, they paused only long enough to share a confused look before the sound came again and the two got off the bed, Albus calling for Scorpius to get Phoenix while he answered the door. Scorpius didn't missing the fact that Albus had snatched up his wand and was holding it in his hand either as they hurried out of the room, making him wish he'd grabbed his own. The idea that they would be attacked at their front door was pretty ludicrous, but whoever had just knocked sounded pretty damn angry.

Naturally Phoenix had heard the banging as well, the boy standing in his doorway when his parents came out of their room, the toddler pointing in the direction of the door. "Loud Girl."

Okay, so their visitor was female, but they knew a lot of women who could be very loud when crossed. Though Phoenix didn't seem overly worried, which was probably a good sign, they reasoned.

So Scorpius scooped Phoenix up into his arms while Albus opened the door, taking a slight step back when he caught sight of the very mad woman standing there with a look on her face that suggested she was thinking about taking a beater bat to him.

"Wotcher, Dionne. What's wrong?"

"Why the bloody hell weren't you at breakfast? We're losing training time because I had to come all this way to get you! You better not be sick or so help me I will beat you for not taking proper care of yourself. Why do men never take care of themselves, I mean seriously?! Going to the Medical Center if you're sick isn't likely to bloody kill you, but not going sure as hell can. And for that matter, you look fine. If you're faking…"

In what he hoped was a soothing tone of voice Albus told her that he was perfectly fine and then reminded her that their practice wasn't scheduled until three that afternoon.

"We do." She confirmed, relaxing a little now that she knew he was indeed fine. "But four members of the Hufflepuff team decided to celebrate Greenhill turning seventeen last night by sharing a couple bottles of whiskey. They're all hungover, the stupid gits, and so they canceled their practice time. I arranged to get their pitch time so get your gear and hurry up! I had a brainstorm last night and you're holding me up! Move it, Potter!"

"Wait…we're going to have TWO practices?"

"Yes, now MOVE IT, POTTER OR ELSE!"

Albus stuttered protests about having to cancel his morning plans with his family AND suffer through two of her inhumane practices fell on deaf ears, his captain's intent to actually find a beater bat and hit him with it until he fell in line with her orders apparent in the glares she directed in his direction.

In order to calm her down a little and keep her from killing the love of his life Scorpius asked Dionne if she wouldn't mind holding Phoenix while he helped Albus put together his stuff, both men ridiculously grateful when she agreed that that was fine, the Gryffindor taking the boy into her arms as she told him how lazy and undedicated his 'mummy' was.

Throwing a comforting arm over Albus's shoulder, he was sorry too, Scorpius reminded his boyfriend that Dionne wouldn't let up until they fell in line with her plans so it was better to just go with it. He and Phoenix would hang out for a bit and then they'd walk up to the pitch so that they could wait for him to finish up. They could still spend plenty of the weekend together, especially since they had Sunday free.

Albus knew Scorpius was right, arguing with Dionne would get him nowhere, but that didn't make him any less annoyed that his morning with Scorpius was being so completely ruined.

Ergo he felt completely justified in snogging the hell out of Scorpius when they were leaving in front of her, just to screw with her mind and traumatize her a little.

She whacked him upside the head in retaliation.

)

After Albus left with a no doubt pretty sore head, Scorpius sent Phoenix back to his room to play while the Slytherin saw about finishing his breakfast and then putting everything back to rights. Or as well as he could since he and Albus had accidentally gotten crumbs and some marmalade on the covers. Of course the sheets needed to be washed anyway, so with much blushing Scorpius just stripped all the sheets off and deposited them in the hamper to be dealt with later. That done Scorpius debated what they should do until Albus's practice was over, finally deciding to get Phoenix dressed for outside and head out. Odds were people would stop to say hi to Phoenix along the way, so it was better if they started out early. Plus this way he could let the boy wear himself out walking most of the way, which would mean a nap after lunch, hopefully.

Course set Scorpius headed for Phoenix's room and managed to lure the toddler out of the box house with the waving of the boy's bear hat, which had Phoenix coming out of his favorite place to demand that it be put on his head where it belonged. Once the hat was on his head Phoenix allowed Scorpius to put him in a warm fall jacket, the mitts his great grandmother Weasley had knitted for him hanging out the sleeves and attached to each other by string so he couldn't lose them. Which was certainly handy, not to mention ingenious on the woman's part as far as Scorpius was concerned.

"Okay, I think we're ready to go."

Leading Phoenix out of his bedroom Scorpius dressed for the weather too and then picked the boy up, letting them out of their rooms and locking the door behind them. That done he set Phoenix back on his feet, took the boy's hand in his, and then announced they were going to go find mummy.

Delighted at that idea, he wanted to play with both his parents after all, Phoenix allowed himself to be directed and followed his da down the hallway, trusting that his light parent knew where he was going.

As Scorpius had suspected they eventually ran into people who had to come over and comment on how absolutely adorable Phoenix looked in his teddy bear hat and bright green coat, happy to see that the boy was fine since they'd all missed him at breakfast. And naturally Phoenix was quite happy to soak up their attention like a sponge until he happened to spot one of his favorite people nearby, ditching the five third years girls who'd come over to say hi to him.

"FWINTY!"

Taking a moment to be amused by the stunned reactions of the girls Scorpius apologized for running off and then walked over towards Flint, who had crouched down so that he was closer to Phoenix's height, listening intently as the toddler explained that they were going to find mummy.

"Hello, Flint."

"Malfoy. On your way to the Quidditch pitch then?" He was still really bitter that Wood had claimed the Hufflepuff's reservation before he had. She'd beaten him to Madam Hooch by two minutes, the witch.

Scorpius nodded with a rueful smile. "Dionne came to collect Albus herself when we didn't show up for breakfast."

"She's evil that way."

"Talking about me behind my back? That's just rude."

Both men looking over towards Lily, Phoenix lost interest in them and ran over to be scooped up into her arms, always happy to see his Funny One. "Hi, hi!"

Giving him a smacking kiss on the cheek to make him giggle, Lily kept walking until she was standing in front of Scorpius and Flint, a gleam in her eyes as she inquired as to what she'd done to deserve the label of evil this time. And when her honorary brother in law informed her that they'd been talking about Dionne, not her, Lily pouted just for the heck of it, quite sure that she was even more evil than the infamous Quidditch captain.

"Why would you want to be?" Scorpius wanted to know, sincerely puzzled.

"Because she's part Weasley." Flint informed him before Lily could response.

"That's rich coming from you, Mr. Slytherin Bad A-R-S-E."

Amused that she'd spelled it out, probably because Malfoy would most likely disapprove of swearing around the kid, Flint reached out and tugged on the short braid hanging in front of her left ear. "Well if I had a galleon for every time a Weasley did something evil or stupid…"

Taking advantage of his nearness Phoenix gripped the front of his aunt's jumper for balance and reached out with his other hand to snag part of Flint's sleeve, tugging on it in an attempt to get the two to stand closer together.

Amused, Lily asked Phoenix what he was up to, Scorpius equally oblivious.

For his part Flint stayed quiet, having already formed a theory of his own that he wasn't particularly fond of. He certainly wasn't going to clue anyone else in either, or at least not until the kid could talk and confirm his suspicions. Because while he could certainly do worse than Lily Potter…he'd really rather not have to live with a woman who thought that driving everyone around her insane was loads of fun.

)

Since they'd arrived early and weren't allowed near the pitch while Dionne was holding one of her super secret practices, Scorpius opted to wait for Albus at a bench that was situated close enough to the arena that Albus couldn't possibly miss them when he did come out. Taking a seat Scorpius leaned back against the bench as he watched Phoenix as the boy explored the area, the toddler sitting down in the leaves minutes later so that he could talk to two chipmunks who were apparently interested enough in the boy to forgo their foraging for winter for a little bit. All three of them were worth watching due to their cuteness alone, and Scorpius's attention probably would have stayed on them until Albus came if not for the hairs that suddenly stood up on end at the back of his neck.

Turning his head instinctively Scorpius recognized the form of the other man immediately, getting to his feet as Callendar approached, Phoenix in his arms by the time the Gryffindor came to a stop in front of them, only a couple feet separating them.

"He'll be a while. He and Dionne got into another argument about the Astrid Affair."

Yup, that would take a while, Scorpius silently agreed even as he remained on his guard, stiffly thanking Callendar for the heads up.

The Astrid Affair was an event that had taken place years ago before he was born, but even he knew about it since it was currently considered the most controversial Quidditch ruling of the twenty first century. A penalty call that had settled the question of which team was going to the national finals that year, the Tornados beating the Harpies by a mere point. The fact that the players, coaches, audience, and the thousands who'd studied the footage of the game still couldn't agree on whether the penalty had been warranted or not had resulted in countless conspiracy theories and numerous bar fights.

Albus and Dionne took it even more seriously since they'd each had a parent on the opposing side. In fact…they could be more than a little scary when they discussed that particular call.

Awkward silence fell as both men studied each other, Phoenix studying them too but not saying a word either.

Finally Callendar spoke, his words coming out too fast and completely throwing Scorpius for a loop. "Can I borrow the kid for a minute?"

"What? No. You most certain cannot." Scorpius tightened his hold at the mere thought of it.

"I'm not going to-I would never-dammit." It was obvious that the Gryffindor wanted to throw in a lot more swear words but knew better than to do that in front of Phoenix. "I'm not asking because I want to hurt him or anything. I'm asking…cause there's stuff I bloody well need to say and they aren't coming out. Or they won't the way they need to. Maybe with the kid I could though. Maybe."

His son didn't seem worried about Callendar, and he had played ball with the Gryffindor according to Rosie. Scorpius didn't trust him though, especially when it had been made so abundantly clear to him that he'd been very wrong to think that he understood what was going on in the other man's head before. But he also felt, in his gut, that Callendar truly did need to release whatever was choking him, preventing him from saying whatever it was he needed to say.

Decision very reluctantly made Scorpius's eyes went steel grey, his body language offensive as he spoke. "You can touch him, that's it. And if you harm him in any way I will prove to you once and for all that while my grandfather might consider me a failure as a Slytherin, that didn't stop him from teaching me to maim and kill like one."


	57. Confession of Bonds

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situation all characters find themselves in. Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoy and have an awesome day.

Notice: My orthopedic surgeon says my dominant hand/arm will be in a cast until the end of the month which means less updates until then, just a heads up to my readers and sorry for the delays this will cause! I'm getting good at typing regardless, but it's not easy!

Confession of Bonds

Both fairly sure that they'd made their intentions clear, Scorpius allowed Callendar to move in close and take one of Phoenix's hands in his, the Gryffindor studying the small hand he held for several moments before closing his fingers ever so gently around it. That he wanted to clutch it like a drowning man spotting a piece of ship wreckage was just pathetic enough to keep him from saying to hell with a personal apology and explanation. And knowing they didn't have much time, Albus knew that Scorpius and Phoenix were waiting for him, Callendar took a very deep breath, let it out, and began to speak.

"I'm sorry…for the way I treated you. It wasn't you…I mean it was but not really. I have so much anger in me sometimes, it feels like it will choke me, like I'm a fucking volcano set to erupt and nothing I tell myself can stop it from happening. Aiming it all at you, it made sense at first. You were a Slytherin and a Malfoy and I was raised to hate your whole family anyway and…and I could tell myself that that justified what I was doing. How I was taking out my anger with my parents, with the past, with feeling so damn pathetic and useless because there was nothing I could do to make things better, more bearable. I can't fix my mum or my parents' marriage, or the fact that I can't change the past, or suddenly be enough to…"

As though he understood, and perhaps he did, Phoenix reached out his other hand and set it on top of Callendar's.

Staring at that hand Callendar found his voice again, forcing himself to look up to meet Scorpius's again.

"I took all that anger out on you and then it was fifth year after Christmas break and you…I saw you waiting for the Hogwarts Express and you were …I could…I couldn't take my eyes off you. And when I realized why that was, what it meant…I can't tell you how much I hated myself. So I got worse, worse and worse where you were concerned because I blamed you for what I was feeling because that was the only way I could handle it. I knew it was wrong, and I hated myself that much more because of it, but I couldn't stop, it was like this never-ending cycle. And as long as you thought it was only hate you wouldn't see the truth, would never think kindly of me and find out my dirty little secret because I was afraid I'd spill my guts if you ever... I had to because if anyone did, if anyone knew…I couldn't live with that."

"I accept your apology."

Blinking hard Callendar had to look away, desperately afraid of what he might say or do in reaction to those four simple words that he'd just been given but hadn't thought himself deserving to hear. "How can you accept it? After all I've done."

"We have things in common, the things you say are eating you up inside and choking you. The only difference is in how we handle it. I do know what it is to feel helpless in the face of a parent's pain, to want more than my next breath to go back in time and fix things for the people who matter to me. What it's like to have a family member so lost in the past and their hate that they see nothing else. Don't care about anything else." Pause. "And you have more to be angry about and hurt over because your mother started off as a victim. My family doesn't have that excuse."

Looking back, his eyes watery but no tears escaping yet, Callendar asked how Scorpius dealt with it.

"I'm a realist. I expect things to be crappy." Scorpius's smile was a rueful one. "You're a Gryffindor, you expect that you can save the world. That you can beat reality into what you want it to be. I can accept my own limitations."

"And I can't do that."

Trying to think like a Gryffindor, which was a lot easier now that he was dating and living with one, Scorpius thought about how Albus seemed to deal with his anger. "At a guess…you'd probably be better off going to the Room of Requirement."

"What? Why?"

"Because I think, and this is just my opinion, but I think you need to punch and swear and generally act like the overly alpha male that you are. The Room can create equipment you can work your frustration out on, or it can be a place where you can yell and rant and say whatever you want with only The Room to hear you. I can even give you a picture of me that you can blow up to tear up or yell at as a pretend me."

"Tried that last part, didn't work."

Opening his mouth to ask how the man had gotten a picture or pictures of him, Scorpius wisely shut it just as quickly. He'd snuck a picture or two of Albus in his day too. And though it freaked him out a little to know that his hopefully former bully had possible been taking pictures of him without his knowledge…well that was better than a punch in the face at the end of the day.

"What about the other stuff? Have you tried that?"

"I tried physical activity, running and working out mostly…but I've never tried a punching bag."

"Gabrielle finds it therapeutic."

Lips twitching, the mental image was too amusing for him not to, Callendar nodded his head. "I'll give it a try."

"Good."

Letting go of Phoenix's hand and sliding his out from under the boy's, Callendar moved to ruffle the kid's hair and then took a step back, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I should…go now. Al will be out any minute and…he's really protective of you."

He couldn't argue that, or the fact that it really would be for the best that Albus didn't come out and see them talking to each other. It would be safer if he just told the Gryffindor about it after the fact.

Thinking the same Callendar inclined his head and said goodbye, Scorpius saying the same.

The other man was out of sight by the time Albus came storming over, apologizing for being late before launching into a tirade about how Dionne was the most stubborn, mule headed woman to ever walk the face of the earth.

Handing Phoenix over Scorpius invited him to tell him all about it.

)

It was an hour later when Scorpius decided to bring up what had happened, waiting until Phoenix was happily playing in his box house and the two of them were actually doing some of the homework they'd used as a cover for the previous night's 'Child Free' maneuver that hadn't really worked in the long run. Not that what they were doing had put Albus in a better mood, but his boyfriend had at least calmed down about Dionne and he figured it was better now than someone spilling the beans later. News traveled too fast in this school, and there was that second practice coming up so very soon.

Taking advantage of the fact that they were sitting side by side at their desk, Albus's idea, Scorpius reached out and tapped the Gryffindor on the shoulder to get his attention. "So I talked to Callendar earlier, while we were waiting for you to finish your practice. He apologized."

Closing the textbook he'd been referencing Albus immediately focused all his attention on Scorpius, not wanting to miss a single detail as he demanded to know exactly what had happened.

"It was nothing, really. He apologized, explained a few things I'd already guessed at, and I advised him to try taking out his anger on a punching bag, see if that would help him with his anger issues."

"You told him to get better at punching things! Are you out of your mind?!"

Having expected that response Scorpius let the shot at his intelligence go. "I don't think he'll come after me anymore, Albus, really. Be nasty to me possibly, but I don't think he'll risk getting physical with me after what happened last time."

"Last time when he snogged you and shoved his damn tongue down your bleeding throat."

"His tongue didn't get that far and yes, I think the fact that physically I'm his type will keep him from putting his hands on me now that he knows that I know. Aside from him being honestly sorry and all that."

Rubbing his hands over his face Albus tried to remind himself that Scorpius would only get angry at him if he forgot that his boyfriend had just as much pride and ego as he did. Well not as much ego, Albus mentally corrected, but Malfoys had more pride than most and he had to be scraping against Scorpius's. But still…

"You couldn't come up with something better than a punching bag?"

"Well I suggested I give him a picture of me that he could swear at and stuff, but apparently he tried that already."

"What? Where the hell did he get a picture of you from?"

The Slytherin shrugged. "I guess he took them when I wasn't looking. Which is weird since I have pretty good radar where he's concerned, but he can be pretty sneaky."

"And you're fine with him taking pictures of you without telling you? He fancies you! And how could you not realize that he was taking pictures of you? Were you blind for a while and I somehow failed to notice or hear about it?!"

Annoyance had Scorpius not thinking his response through. "Funny you should think that, when you never noticed me taking a picture or two of you."

His mind immediately jumping on this new topic, though the blonde bright red blushing was a little distracting, as always, Albus leaned forward with a cat that caught the canary grin. "You took pictures of me before we got together? When I wasn't watching?"

"Maybe." Was Scorpius's mumbled response, the Slytherin looking down at his hands as he tried to get his blushing under control. This was not a subject he wanted to get into. Especially since he could see where this conversation was going to go now.

Shuffling closer Albus moved in and wrapped an arm around the Slytherin's waist, tugging him that much closer while their chairs whined their protest. "And just what did you do with those pictures, exactly?"

Scorpius tried and failed to give him a quelling look.

"So what am I doing in these pictures, then?" Not about to let it go, especially since the topic as making Scorpius blush and squirm so damn adorably, Albus leaned in and began peppering the man's neck with light kisses. "Do you prefer the school uniform look, or the casual? My Quidditch getup perhaps?"

"They were just regular photographs!"

"And what did you do with these photos?"

Sticking his tongue out seemed appropriate, so that's exactly what Scorpius did.

"Distracting me with your tongue, hmm? Good ploy."

Okay, well now he knew what to do to get Albus's mind off embarrassing him to death. And that being the case Scorpius pushed back his chair, taking advantage of the fact that Albus's hold on him had been a loose one. Getting out of his chair Scorpius sent Albus a look and then trailed his fingers along the desk as he backed away, waving a finger in the Gryffindor's direction. "Not a ploy."

"Oh really." Pushing back his seat now, Albus got out and headed towards Scorpius, who let him catch him easily, Scorpius throwing himself into the surprised man's arms and slating their lips together to insure that there would be no more questions asked.

Tongues tangling with a great deal of enthusiasm Albus maneuvered Scorpius with his body so that he could back the other man up against the closest wall, pinning him there before breaking off the kiss so that he could go back to Scorpius's neck.

"Well played." Nibbling there, Albus wasn't about to give up that easily. "I have some very sexy pictures of you too, you know."

"Yeah, but lucky us, we don't have to imagine anymore."

"Very true."

Arching his neck to give his boyfriend better access Scorpius said his name softly.

"Hmmm?"

"You have to leave for practice soon. Do you want to continue this or tease me?"

He didn't have to think about that hard. "I'll tease you later."

"Good idea."

)

Hugging his phoenix stuffed animal against his chest, Phoenix smiled at his parents and silently debated whether or not to interrupt them and their fun. He liked that they could understand each other a lot better now, plus it seemed to make them so happy that he could say things that they understood better. He was glad to know that they'd been as annoyed by their failures to communicate as he'd been, and he liked talking to them now.

Deciding to leave his parents to what they were doing,their colors sure were happy, Phoenix backed out of the room and head off to explore the other rooms until he was facing the main hallway, walking over to it with a considering look on his face. There were a lot of other people in this place who's colors weren't as bright and colorful as they should be. Maybe he should go find some of them and help them find the people who would make their colors shine brighter. Now that he had more words they could all understand, it would be a lot easier trying to explain to them why they needed to listen to him.

Of course when big people were around him they didn't so much listen as stroke his hair and make weird sounds at him that he couldn't understand but they seemed to think he should like.

Having reached the door Phoenix set his stuffed animal off to the side and then turned his attention to studying the handle, getting up on his tip toes as he tried to reach the knob that would open the door for him. It was up too high, he quickly realized, a pout immediately forming as he made a sound of dissatisfaction.

Hmm, he needed something to stand on.

Wandering back into the front parlor he grabbed a small pillow and dragged it over to the door, than grabbed another and stacked that on top of the other. Climbing up on top of them took some doing, but he'd just managed it and was about to try for the knob again when he sensed someone else on the other side of the door.

But there was no sound from the door. There was usually a sound from the door when someone came to it.

Placing his hands against the door Phoenix closed his eyes and concentrated on sensing the energy, seeing if he recognized the color signature through the wood.

"Gran-fadder!"

Jumping off his pillows Phoenix ran out of the hallway and headed for his parents, who were rolling around on the floor without their shirts on for some reason. But that wasn't important, he had to tell them that his grandfather was there and not making a sound on the door for some reason.

"Gran-fadder here!"

Much to his annoyance Phoenix had to tell them four times before they started paying attention, staring at him with the weirdest look on their faces. Amusing faces though, they made him smile even as he pointed towards the hallway to remind them that they really needed to get the door.

"Does he mean my dad?"

"No...when we show him pictures...your father is always Granddad. My father is always Grandfather. SHIT!"

Realizing what this meant the two immediately started to throw their clothes on, talking so fast Phoenix couldn't keep up with what they were saying. But they were moving and that was the main thing.

Yelping when he was suddenly picked up, he hadn't seen that coming and his mummy moved very fast sometimes, Phoenix gave the parent in question a less than pleased look but didn't bother to squirm since they were all moving towards the hallway now, his parents continuing to talk too fast for him to comprehend. That too was annoying, but he decided to let it go after his da moved the pillows and opened their front door, his grandfather making the funniest face ever, resulting in giggles Phoenix just couldn't hold in.

"Come to see Phoenix? Here you go!"

Automatically taking the toddler from the Gryffindor when Albus all but dumped the boy in his arms, Draco adjusted his hold accordingly, his kid holding skills a little rusty but well ingrained nonetheless. Looking down at the beaming little boy, who looked so much like his own son had aside from the damn Potter eyes, Draco had to work to stop at lip twitching, refusing to smile as he turned his gaze to meet Harry's son's innocent stare.

"That was such a Gryffindor thing to do."

"Thanks, I try."


	58. Grandfather Bonding

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the storyline. Thanks for reading.

Dedicated to tinawinna for reviewing every chapter of this fanfic and for all the other reviews too. I've loved hearing from you and thanks!

Grandfather Bonding

No one could accuse Draco of being super observant, but he would have to be blind not to notice the fact that his son's usually perfect hair was as mussed up as the other boy's, not to mention their flushed cheeks, slightly glazed eyes, and what was undoubtedly a hickey blooming on Potter's neck. Math was one of his strong points so Draco could quite easily put two and two together, the answer making him more than a little nauseated and sorry that he'd eaten lunch before coming. But then the idea of his and Harry Potter's son being a couple would most likely always give him indigestion and he had to eat sometimes.

Concentrating on his grandson, who was a lot nicer to look at than the other two, Draco had to admit he was sort of grateful for the distract Albus had given him, though he wouldn't admit it. "He's gotten bigger again."

"I big boy."

"Yes, you are. And you shouldn't be." Draco gave both teenagers dark looks that had Scorpius hunching his shoulders and the Gryffindor staring back defiantly, refusing to be cowed or censored by him. Big surprise there.

"So what brings you by?" Albus asked him, leaving his son where he was since there was no way the other man would rip into them as long as Phoenix was around. His son hated bad atmospheres and Draco had just gotten done making it clear that he didn't like the fact that Phoenix had felt the need to grow up faster than normal. Not to mention the fact that if his boyfriend's father were to upset Phoenix in any way it would be a simple matter to tell the man's wife what he'd done and Astoria would no doubt see to her husband's punishment post haste.

"I need to speak with both of you. Preferably not in the hallway."

Albus's lips twitching this time he motioned for Draco to come right in, the older man knowing the layout well enough from his last visit to head straight into the parlor, taking a seat on a chair with Phoenix sitting contently in his lap with his head leaning against his grandfather's chest for support. Filing in after them Albus and Scorpius took a seat together on the couch as a show of unity, not to mention the fact that it was never wise to give certain Malfoys your back in Albus's opinion.

"Mother couldn't come with you?" Scorpius asked, thinking that sounded better than asking if his mother knew that his father had planned to come and visit him.

"I asked her to stay behind." Though he would have preferred she be the one having this particular conversation with them. But he'd been overruled and unable to deny that the other three were right in thinking this should come from him since the two had to think he would be most opposed to the idea and the list had been his idea. His stupid idea to hear the women tell it.

Keeping one arm around his grandson to make sure he stayed put Draco reached into his other pocket and withdrew the folded up piece of parchment in question, holding it out towards the two wary teens. "This is a list of demands, as it were. To all of us agreeing to accept the fact that you two are currently dating."

"Whose us?" Albus wanted to know as he got out of his seat to take the paper, unfolding it as he sat down again.

"Your father and I mostly." Their wives had thought the list utterly ridiculous and juvenile, but then they didn't quite see this whole thing the way he and Harry did. For once he and Potter had been in complete agreement, and their wives finding it amusing was just wrong on a number of levels. In the end the two women had hardly contributed at all.

"Wait…you're saying that you and my dad actually sat down, together, without Phoenix or us around to keep you guys in line…and talked? Like adults?"

Draco gave him a quelling look. "We are the adults here. You're the children who can't think when you're in the same room together because of your damn hormones. Now hurry up and read it so we can wrap this up as quickly as possible."

Neither sure what to make of all this Albus quickly finished straightening out the paper, Scorpius leaning over the other man's shoulder to get a look at what had neatly been written out in his father's handwriting.

It was a list, and a very detailed one at that. It specified all the things the two of them were not allowed to do, say, or talk about while in the presence of their parents. No snogging beyond a brief kiss that couldn't last longer than it took to say one of their full names, the same going for hugging. No groping, petnames calling or inappropriate pinching, touching was to be kept at a bare minimum and only when appropriate. Sex was never, ever, to be discussed in even the most general of ways on penalty of extremely angry parents. They were also to maintain a physical appearance that would not so much as hint at their present relationship in any way, shape or form. There was a list of what fell under that category too. The whole page was used, and at the end of the list their fathers had signed it. There was also a note at the bottom in Albus's mother's handwriting that stated they wouldn't hold the boys to any of the above and both their mothers had signed it.

"They made us let them write that at the bottom." Draco muttered when they'd obviously finished, the looks on their faces more than a little annoying. It had not been a great week for him, and his patience was quickly drawing to an end. Arguing with him about this would not end well for them.

Obviously sensing this Phoenix patted his grandfather's chest in sympathy, making comforting noises that had the men in the room going all mushy before they recovered themselves, turning their attention back to the matter at hand.

"So as long as we follow these rules while we're around you and my dad you'll leave us alone? You won't interfere?" Albus asked as he allowed Scorpius to tug the parchment out of his hand so that he could reread it to make sure they fully understood what they'd be agreeing to.

Draco grimly nodded.

"Out of morbid curiosity…how long did it take the two of you to come up with that list?"

"Hard to say. We had to stop off and on." They'd only been able to stand being together for so long, especially since their wives had washed their hands of the whole thing early on. But in the end they'd sucked it up and got it done because one of the other things they had in common was the fact that they both loved their sons enough to keep doing so despite said child's taste in men. Though Harry seemed to like Scorpius, making any number of comments about how he'd think the boy was someone else's if he didn't look so much like a Malfoy. Of course that just reminded them of the fact that their boys looked just like them and breaks became required to distance themselves from scarring mental images while in each other's presence.

Touching Albus's arm Scorpius waited until he had his lover's attention before he shook the list slightly between his fingers. "I can agree to this. What about you?"

Not liking the idea of the two of them having to restrain themselves at family gatherings and such just because they were a Potter and a Malfoy, they had nothing to be ashamed of after all and as much right to show affection as anyone else, Albus nonetheless took the list from Scorpius again and reread it for Scorpius's sake.

"Why did my dad write this with you?" Albus mumbled as he read, that part just not making sense to him. His dad seemed to like Scorpius well enough, and he knew that his father did his best not to judge people by their families, though he admittedly didn't always succeed there.

"Because we look just like them." Scorpius answered before his father could. Unlike his boyfriend he'd thought of that difficulty long ago and had been expecting to have to keep the personal displays of affection to a minimum anyway, if they were accepted at all.

"Oh." Well…that made this all make a little more sense to him now, Albus acknowledged with a grimace. And hopefully, after a while, their parents would get used to them enough that the resemblance wouldn't matter. But putting himself in their fathers shoes for a moment, with all that history to deal with, Albus was willing to go along with this stupid plan too and said so.

"Good. You can send a letter to your father saying so." He didn't want to talk or correspond with the elder Potter until Christmas, if that. And only if Phoenix was around to keep them occupied. "Now you boys have homework to do, yes?"

Since they'd discussed on their way to answer the door that they'd claim he'd interrupted them in the middle of doing precisely that both teenagers immediately nodded their heads.

"Good. Go do that for an hour or so while I get reacquainted with my grandson. After that I'll be going and will expect him to be exactly this size when I see him at Christmas, is that understood?"

"I have to start getting ready for a Quidditch practice, actually."

"Even better."

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that."

)

Albus wasn't terribly thrilled at the idea of leaving Scorpius alone with his father even though everything appeared to be sorted out now, but he didn't have much choice between the man in question assuring him he'd be just fine and the threat of Dionne coming to get him hanging over his head too. So he got ready and deliberately gave Scorpius a long, loving kiss in the hallway since they were out of sight, and then headed out with a reminder that he'd come back as quick as he could if need be. Scorpius merely had to send him a SOS and he'd ride his broom through the window if necessary.

Chuckling, Scorpius grinned at him as he tried to brush down Albus's unruly hair one last time. "I'm sure that won't be necessary. Now get before Dionne's head explodes with frustration."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going, I'm going."

Closing the door behind the Gryffindor Scorpius headed back into the parlor, smiling over the sight of his father waving a new toy in front of Phoenix, the boy obviously fascinated by the simple stick that glowed and looked pretty neat when it was moved quickly.

"It's okay if he chews on it apparently. The tube won't break." Handing it over to Phoenix, who began swinging it around immediately, Draco watched as his son dropped back onto the sofa. "You look tired."

"Phoenix was restless last night." Which was partly true, and the only part his father would want to hear.

Cradling the boy more protective against him Draco would have looked the boy over to be sure he was alright but knew his son wouldn't have allowed anything to happen to the toddler. And Phoenix looked as happy as could be at the moment with his new toy, something he'd picked out for the boy all by himself, Draco thought proudly before turning his attention back to his boy. "I told my parents and they didn't have anything to say on the matter other than to ask if I was sure and what I was going to do about it."

"And what did you say?"

"That a good parent wants their child's happiness above all else. And that if that boy breaks your heart I'd let them help me break him."

Rising from his seat with his Malfoy eyes flashing dangerously, Scorpius pinned his father in place with the force of his stare. "You won't hurt him. I won't let you."

"As long as he treats you like the treasure you are I have no problem with him. I made it clear they aren't to lay a hand on him unless I say so or I'll disown myself." It was rare to see his son angry, but when it happened…you knew his boy was Astoria's son.

"He is not to be harmed." For his father to make that sort of threat said something, as did the rest, but he didn't want any action taken against Albus regardless of what could happen to him in the future. For Phoenix's sake alone, if nothing else, Albus was not to be harmed. That was not something he could never forgive, ever. And he would do whatever was necessary to make sure his family got that through their undeniably thick skulls.

Looking like he'd just been asked to snog Harry Potter Draco finally broke enough under his son's stare to promise not to act against Albus without talking to him first. That was the best offer he was going to get.

"Deal. And thanks." Sitting back down to show that they were fine now Scorpius worked up a smile. "You're actually taking this a lot better than I thought you would."

Draco's shrug was more of a jerk. "You were always looking at him funny, and after Phoenix came into the picture I could see it in the pictures you sent home that people took of the three of you. That you were a family."

"He is. I'm very lucky, family wise."

The look Scorpius gave his father now made it clear that he was included in that statement, the man's eyes reflecting the statement before they both turned their attention to Phoenix, who was loudly protesting the fact that he'd dropped his glow stick and was being held too firmly to retrieve it himself.

Getting up Scorpius motioned for his father to stay where he was and walked over to get the toy back for his son, handing it over and then moving to stand beside his father's chair, leaning against it with one arm across the man's shoulders as they both smiled as Phoenix happily bounced and waved his toy in the air for all their amusement.

)

Of all his grandchildren Arthur Weasley would have listed his grandson Fred as the second most likely to blow himself up on any given day or cause himself irrevocable harm through magic. Lily was first, naturally, but George's only son was right up there with her and everyone agreed that his future wife, if he married, would need to be even tougher than Angelina or as certified as Fred when it came to inventing magic. Ergo it had come to no surprise to the man when he'd heard through the family grapevine that Fred had had to pay a visit to St. Mungos recently. What had flabbergasted him was the fact that his grandson had apparently ended up requiring medical aid because the boy had gotten it into his head to pay a visit to Gregory Goyle and inform him of his honorable intentions towards the man's daughter.

Once he'd questioned other members of his family Arthur had learned that a number of them were aware that Fred had been chasing after Scorpius Malfoy's best friend Gabrielle Goyle since the start of the new school term, but none of them were sure the girl was even the slightest bit interested in Fred. So being a rational man Arthur decided that the most logical thing to do was to pay his grandson a visit at Hogsmeade and find out what was actually going on and whether he needed to have a talk with the boy.

When he arrived at Fred's joke shop Arthur was relieved to find that his grandson looked absolutely normal except for the constantly changing hair color, which was a new product the boy was apparently working on with Lily. Thanks to his sons he was used to this sort of thing by now, and didn't bother to even shake his head over it, simply asking for confirmation that Fred was indeed fine.

"Well my right leg spasms a few times an hour, but other than that I'm right as rain." Fred reassured him, though his grimace had the older man giving him a suspicious look. "Honest. He got the worst of it, which is why I'm not in the best of moods since Elle is liable to have my head when she hears I jinxed her old man."

"Yes, that probably won't go over well, even if it was in self defense."

Fred sighed in agreement. Lily had told him that Albus had told her that when he'd first been officially introduced to Elle she'd bashed her brothers' heads together, so maybe she realized that the men in her family were constantly asking to have their arses kicked, but he wasn't holding his breath there.

"Well your parents certainly think highly of her so I hope it works out well for you." Preferably without the boy ending up in the hospital on a regular basis, Arthur silently added.

As if on cue one of Fred's workers came into the back room then with a letter in hand, an apology on his lips for its late delivery. It seemed that the letter had been delivered the day before by owl but he'd set it aside and forgotten about it until he'd stumbled across it again under the cash register. It was for Fred.

Taking the letter Fred recognized the seal and writing immediately. "Well at least she didn't send me a bloody Howler. I wouldn't have put it past her."

Opening the letter carefully Fred retrieved the single piece of parchment, pumping his free fist into the air with a war whoop that echoed in the nearly empty space.

"YES!"


	59. Babysitting Bonds

Disclaimer: As always we'll own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in.

Important Note: To my regular readers there will be no updates next week as I will be on holidays. 'The World of Harry Potter' in Orlando, Florida, here I come! Happy and Merry to you all!

Babysitting Bonds

Now that Albus and Scorpius knew that their parents weren't upset about them dating, and that Callendar wasn't likely to cause them any more problems any time soon, the two teens thought it safe to breathe a sigh of relief and relax a little. How wrong they were. For unbeknownst to them a couple of Saturdays after Draco's visit, their Transfiguration teacher, who'd left the school for the weekend to attend his sister's birthday party, got involved in a family 'argument' that had ended with a number of his relatives and himself being doomed to visit St. Mungos for various lengths of time. Professor Butterman would not be back for a week and a half and a substitute had been called in to cover his classes while he recovered from being turned into a chicken man who could only cluck in indignation at his present circumstances.

So on Monday morning everyone was introduced to Professor Olive Adler, a former teacher at Beauxbatons who had recently retired but had agreed to come and fill in as she was a third cousin of the Headmaster. And since their headmaster was a fairly easy going and reasonable man the family connection, and the fact that she seemed like a perfectly nice person when introduced to the students, lulled them into a false sense of security and meant that her first students to enter her classroom had no idea that they were the figurative lambs to the slaughter.

The news would spread quickly after that class, students whispering to themselves that this teacher had to be even worse than Professor Severus Snape, who'd they'd grown up hearing their parents complain about and had used against them every time they'd dared to suggest that any of their own teachers was too hard on them. And while the students were willing to agree that Professor Adler wasn't as evil as the now infamous Professor Dolores Umbridge or the Carrows, they were still convinced that all their happiness and fun for the next week and a half were being sucked out of them like Adler was a Dementor in disguise.

Professor Adler wasn't snarky, biased, or just plain nasty the way Professor Snape was said to have been, and she didn't have the evil perkiness slash sadistic nature that had marked Umbridge's reign of terror during her year at Hogwarts decades ago. No, the problem with the new Transfiguration teacher was that she considered all her students horribly behind with gaps in their knowledge that stunned and then challenged her to do her very best to bring them all up to the level of competence she thought they should have. In a week and a half.

Even Rose and Hugo Weasley, who were known to do a bare minimum of three times what their teacher had asked of them, were stunned at the workload that was dumped on them with a gleam in their teacher's eye that said she was a woman on a mission.

Now normally the students would have said to hell with it and done half arsed jobs of the homework and that would have been that until Butterman came back. But their opponent was far too canny for that, the woman more than willing to stoop to blackmail if that's what it took to get her new students in shape. There wasn't much beyond detentions she could do to the first and second years, but for third years and up she had a weapon at her disposal that would have had said students applauding her cunning if she wasn't making their lives a living hell.

Hogsmeade

The last scheduled trip there before Christmas was that coming weekend and if they didn't have all their homework turned in from that week, with what she'd already graded appearing to be satisfactory at the very least, she would have her brother revoke their permission to visit the little village before Christmas holidays.

After the horrified silence that had greeted that announcement the students had tried to appeal, both to their new teacher and the headmaster, but to no avail, the students knowing that even if they sent letters home demanding that their parents intervene on their behalf said parents wouldn't be able to do anything in time to save their visit. They were stuck.

Many of the other teachers took pity on their students, arranging things to lighten the homework they would have normally given the students that week, but they too had students to teach and information that needed to be passed on and studied, particularly for those who would face OWLS or NEWTS at the end of the year.

It was whispered that the day after the announcement Fred Weasley had come to Hogwarts to try and charm Professor Adler into lightening the load and showing her students some mercy. A little of it had been concern for his poor cousins, but the majority of the students gossiped that they'd heard that the former Gryffindor had convinced Gabrielle Goyle to go on a date with him during her visit to Hogsmeade, and she had sent him a letter telling him she might have to cancel because of the homework problem. Needless to say the older man's charm had fallen flat, with Adler rumored to have spent a good half an hour or more lecturing him about how selfish he was to care more about his own needs than the educational wellbeing of his cousins and female love interest.

It was also rumored that the new teacher had pulled Gabrielle aside after her meeting with Fred to lecture the girl about how she should only be dating boys her own age and how bad an influence this Fred Weasley would be to her future.

So the students of Hogwarts were stuck…with little course but to work as they had never worked before.

)

Desperate times called for desperate measures, and it was decided among a group of friends that they would have to band together and break a few school rules if they were to survive Adler's reign of homework hell. So after they were supposed to be tucked up in their respective dormitories Wednesday and Thursday night it was decided that the various students from all four houses would meet in the Room of Requirement and help each other out with their homework as a group. All the Potter and Weasleys were going to be there, as was the Scamanders, Frankie, Magda, Scorpius, Gabrielle, and about ten others who were close friends with the originally invited and had begged to be included, some literally on their knees.

Naturally Phoenix had to be brought too, he couldn't be left behind, but thankfully they had a babysitter in Davey, who had always been crap at Transfiguration and had dropped the class as soon as he was allowed to. A choice he had rubbed into the faces of numerous people the first day after the homework bomb had been dropped, before going silent on the subject out of fear for his life. Even his own girlfriend had turned on him.

And so while the others got into groups to write out their answers or practice the wand work they were supposed to demonstrate at the end of the school week, Davey took Phoenix off into a small room the Muggleborn had asked the Room of Requirement to create for him.

Necessary, Davey explained, because it would be soundproofed and would allow him and Phoenix to make as much noise as they wanted without bothering them. Scorpius was obviously not thrilled with this turn of events, he had no idea how qualified a caregiver the other teenager was and had thought he could keep an eye on them, but Albus managed to convince him and the two settled down to work with the others.

Davey felt Scorpius's eyes drilling into his back every step of the way to the special room.

Phoenix toddled off with Davey willingly enough, he'd know if his parents got too far away from him, and when he saw the very familiar machine that had been set up in the room already the toddler bounced in place in obvious glee.

Pleased with the response Davey crouched down beside the little boy so that they were closer to eye level.

"So you might be wondering what you and I are going to be getting up to over the next couple of nights, my little friend, and the answer is music. Music is the greatest thing ever, and I am going to install a knowledgeable and deep love of it in you. I tried this with my brother, I will admit, but the little cretin has horrible taste in music and I think I waited way too long to take him under my wing musically. His fault really, for being such an annoying git when we were younger. Anyway…that's the past and tonight I begin anew."

Cocking his head to the side Phoenix had no idea what his mummy's best friend was saying, but the man's colors were so very happy that he smiled anyway.

Taking that as confirmation that Phoenix was onboard with the plan Davey gave him a big thumbs up. "Excellent enthusiasm. Good boy." Grinning Davey motioned towards the record player and then turned his attention to rooting around in the book bag he'd brought with him. "So we're going to start with the classics, the old stuff that most people dismiss today because they've been exposed to their generation's crap and don't know what real music is." Pulling out six record albums to start with Davey showed each cover in turn. "The first Beatles album, we'll work out way through their stuff gradually and you too shall worship them, Elvis Presley, aka The King, Johnny Cash, The Temptations and The Supremes. To start with. We'll get to Queen, The Boss and Jackson eventually, don't worry."

"Ogay." Seemed the most appropriate answer to Phoenix, the boy then pointing to the machine in a decidedly commanding way. "Pay music."

"Time for the music." Davey agreed as he went over and put the first record on, music soon filling the space with the sound of The Man in Black.

As the distinctive bass-baritone voice filled the room Phoenix's eyes got wider and wider, the boy sitting down on his bum with a look of complete and total absorption. This wasn't like the music he'd heard before, and it utterly captivated him as he started to move with the beat without thinking, his mind absorbing and recording the new words and sounds like a sponge soaked up water.

Taking a seat beside the toddler Davey patted Phoenix's shoulder. "I know, I know."

"Shhh." Was the toddler's response, and all he said for quite a while as he lost himself in the music.

)

His hand was going to fall right off, Albus decided as he flexed his fingers for what felt like the billionth time since he'd picked up his quill. And while intellectually he knew that his parents and friends had had some far worse teachers in their day, Umbridge and the Carrows coming to mind, Albus knew without a doubt in his mind that someday he'd be telling Phoenix all about Adler when the boy complained in a letter home from Hogwarts that a teacher of his was being too strict or expecting too much of him. Of course Phoenix might never have that problem, Albus reasoned, since the boy could wrap pretty much everyone around his little finger.

"Wait a-why didn't I think of that?" Albus wondered, dropping his quill back into the inkwell. "Scorpius, we should sic Phoenix on Adler! She'd have to crack then."

"We can't. We promised the Headmaster and the Board that we wouldn't use Phoenix as an excuse for avoiding our academic duties." Scorpius reminded him without looking up from his parchment. "Besides, if we got out of this because of Phoenix and the others didn't, they'd start a mob and come after us the way they almost did with Davey and all the others stupid enough to brag about not having Alder."

Not taking offense at all, she was in perfect agreement, Magda nodded her head and then asked for someone to read over her last paragraph. Her brain was so fried she didn't trust her own judgment anymore.

As she was far ahead of the others, naturally, Rose offered to proofread for her, Magda blowing her a kiss and promising her undying devotion in thanks.

"Remind me again why I can't commandeer some plants from my dad's greenhouses and slip her something that will put her out for the week. Between Scorpius and I we could manage it."

Looking over at Frankie Scorpius again said no. He was not risking having a criminal record if something went wrong. And he was a Malfoy, he reminded the Gryffindors. Things always went wrong.

"Okay, fine, Rosie and I."

"Suck it up, Frankie. Looks good, Mags, though we should be calling it a night soon or we won't be conscious for tomorrow's classes."

While the others discussed when they should pack it in Flint gave Frankie an evaluating look from his small group of fifth and sixth years. "Knocking out a teacher…how very un-Gryffindor of you."

"Who wouldn't enjoy a week of uninterrupted sleep?" Frankie countered as he turned around to face the other teenager, too close to his mental breaking point to care that his morals were being questioned by a Slytherin of all people. "And she started it."

Lips twitching at the childishness of that statement Flint's next words were cut off as it was loudly announced by Rose that she and Hugo were now leaving because they both had no intention of falling asleep in The Room or along the way back to their dormitories. She strongly suggested everyone do the same before they keeled over and possibly spilled ink or caffeinated substances all over each other's homework.

Countless groans, colorful language, and bones cracking followed as the rest got to their feet and stretched out before starting to put away their stuff, happy to stop but well aware that there was so much more to come.

Once all his stuff was back in his bag Flint walked over to Scorpius and briefly tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. "Thanks again for inviting me. I'll see that Gabrielle gets back to our dorm safely." It was the least he could do after all.

Grateful Scorpius waved off the thanks and wished Flint luck in waking up on time tomorrow. They were all going to need it.

Overhearing Gabrielle would have normally pointed out that she was more than capable of getting back to the Slytherin dormitories by herself, but she was almost asleep on her feet and knew from her brief dance with him that Flint was strong enough to carry her if need be. So she simply wished those she liked in the room a good night and then motioned for her fellow Slytherin to lead the way out.

Together Albus, Scorpius and Magda headed for the small room Davey had created to pick up their charges, opening the door to find the two passed out, Phoenix on a large pillow and Davey just on the floor while the record player continued to spin the record it had finished playing a while ago.

Knowing how her man felt about his records Magda headed over to retrieve it and return it to its sleeve, packing them all away in Davey's bag while Scorpius picked up Scorpius, since Albus had already commandeered both their book bags since the satchels were so loaded down one weighed more than their son.

Soon enough they had Davey up and on his feet, the teenagers amused by the fact that the Gryffindor's first question was if his records were all right, followed by the fact that Phoenix was going to be a music prodigy.

"Good to know." Helping Magda all but drag Davey out of the room, no easy task, the group of them heading out with Frankie taking over with the Davey carrying since he was going in the same direction, unlike the Malfoy/Potter family.

Staying together for as long as possible, there was little chance they'd encounter any teacher or Filch at this late an hour, the students kept talking to keep themselves awake, though they kept their voices down for Phoenix's sake. Finally they had to split up, all looking like they were headed for the guillotine when they mentioned the fact that they'd see them tomorrow in the Room, if not sooner.

Once on their own Albus and Scorpius did very little talking, getting back to their rooms with a single-minded focus that got them to their destination just before they'd reach the point where they might have said to hell with it and camped out on the floor.

As soon as they were through the door Albus dumped both bags off to the side with a groan of relief that was almost orgasmic, Scorpius too tired to appreciate it as he stumbled along the short hallway and then into his son's bedroom, tucking Phoenix in absently without a thought to putting the boy in pajamas.

Neither teen gave a whit about their own clothing either, both flopping down onto Albus's bed for a couple minutes before working up enough strength and fortitude to crawl under the covers, never mind that they were still wearing their school uniforms, socks and shoes. Thankfully Scorpius remembered to set Albus's alarm, there was no way either of them was waking up naturally tomorrow, and that done shifted over so that he could snuggle up against Albus for the added warmth and comfort.

Using his last ounce of strength to throw an arm around Scorpius's waist as he passed out, Albus's good night was slurred and hardly understandable.

Scorpius was already asleep.


	60. Bonding With Tomo

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the plot. Thanks and enjoy.

Bonding With Tomo

Thursday morning dragged on and on for both Albus and Scorpius, the two teenagers tired and wishing for nothing more than sleep and the banning of homework for the foreseeable future. Neither was likely to happen, but there was no harm in wishing and so they did. The two also clung to the fact that they would be able to hopefully get a chunk of work done that afternoon since the Headmaster had given permission for Tomo to come by to visit Phoenix for a couple hours. After she'd sent a message back confirming that she'd be 'tickled pink' to come visit they'd sent her an additional request asking the house elf to please bring them some sandwiches too, the idea being that they'd skip going to the Great Hall for the meal and work through it while Tomo kept an eye on Phoenix. After lunch they both had a free period so putting the two timeslots together Scorpius and Albus were pretty sure that they'd get enough done that they'd be able to turn in at a somewhat decent hour that night. Fingers crossed, anyway.

Finally lunchtime came and the two collected Phoenix from Lily and then headed towards the school's main entrance where Tomo was supposed to show up since she'd officially been invited and they hadn't had to sneak her in the way they'd planned if necessary.

Walking between his parents Phoenix's face lit up as soon as he caught sight of the house elf looking very small and out of place in the huge room she'd been waiting in.

"PEEK-BOO!"

Laughing out the name he'd given his favorite house elf Phoenix let go of the hands that had held his and ran for Tomo, who was already hurrying over to him as she exclaimed over how big he'd gotten since the last time she'd seen him and wasn't he the handsomest, more adorable little wizard to ever live!

Both teenagers smiled over the cuteness of it all as Phoenix hugged the house elf tightly, the difference in height not all that great between the two, waiting patiently for them to remember that they weren't alone as Phoenix impressed Tomo with his new vocabulary.

When she did finally turn her attention to Scorpius and Albus it was with the intent to ask exactly how many words Phoenix had learned, the words dying in the house elf's throat once she got a good look at them and the physical signs of exhaustion that immediately had Tomo demanding that they go to the boys's rooms so that they could get some sleep!

Shaking his head Albus reached down to pick up Phoenix, ignoring the dark look the little boy aimed in his direction. "If only. We'll tell you about the situation on the way."

Having gone over to pick up the picnic basket Tomo had left in her hurry to get to Phoenix Scorpius shook his head over the weight, knowing immediately that the house elf had not taken their 'We just need sandwiches' request seriously. Typical house elf, Scorpius thought as he thanked Tomo for going to the trouble.

Waving off the thanks Tomo insisted it was nothing, she'd been happy to do it.

Putting Phoenix up on his shoulders to distract his son from pouting over not being allowed to walk himself, Albus motioned in the direction they were going, Scorpius and Tomo falling into step with him as the Gryffindor began his tale of woe and educational trauma.

Naturally Tomo was a hundred percent on their side, offering to stay for the rest of the day and into the night if they needed her to. It was her day off, she explained, and looking after Phoenix was never a burden. She loved doing it.

"We'll definitely keep that in reserve, though Davey will be disappointed if he doesn't get his chance to continue his musical indoctrination of Phoenix tonight. He was blabbering about it all during breakfast." Albus grimaced at the memory, especially since he'd threatened to break a plate over the other man's head if he didn't shut up about how Phoenix was going to be a musical prodigy. He loved talking and bragging about his son of course, but it had not been the time or the place thanks to his current workload and lack of sleep.

"Music yay." Phoenix chimed in, knowing and liking that word. He loved music.

Shaking his head Scorpius turned his attention to asking Tomo how she was doing. He'd grown to like the house elf during his brief stay at Grimmauld Place and really appreciated all she'd done and was doing for them, especially on her day off.

"Tomo is doing very well, thank you. It will be nice when you all come home for Christmas. Tomo thinks that Grimmauld Place misses you as much as Tomo does. It feels very empty without you all and Kreacher in it. Tomo puts flowers on Kreacher's grave every Sunday too, and tells him about the things Mrs. Potter tells Tomo about you three and how well you're doing here at Hogwarts. Tomo is sure Kreacher would be happy at how wonderful Phoenix is turning out to be."

"We've missed you too." Albus assured her, patting her on her bald head affectionately.

Tomo beamed over the sentiment the rest of the way to their rooms.

)

Arriving at their destination Scorpius asked Tomo if she'd like to eat lunch with them first, the house elf thanking them for the offer but explaining that she'd eaten before she'd come so that she could give Phoenix her full attention. For his part Phoenix couldn't wait to show her his box house either, he was seriously proud of its brilliance, and so Albus and Scorpius waved good bye as the other two headed for Phoenix's bedroom and then headed to their small parlor to quickly eat before going back into the trenches so to speak.

"Freshly baked chocolate biscuits." Albus sighed when he caught sight of them as Scorpius started to unload the basket. "I love Tomo."

Smiling Scorpius nodded and put out the requested sandwiches, followed shortly by containers containing cut up veggies, cheese and crackers, and fruit to go with the biscuits for dessert. "We're not going to be able to eat all this."

"Speak for yourself." Was Albus's opinion as he passed over a glass of pumpkin juice before gesturing with his own. "You haven't seen anything yet. Wait till you see the spread my family will put out for Christmas. People will have to roll us out afterwards."

After taking a neat bite of his sandwich and swallowing Scorpius stated that he was sure it wouldn't be that bad. And if there really was that much food they were going to have to pace themselves given how many family meals they would have to attend over the holidays.

"True."

And thank all the powers in the universe that they'd been able to arrange their family dinners in such a way that no one should feel slighted, Albus thought with a grateful sigh. It had taken some work on both their parts but it had been agreed upon by all parties that he, Scorpius and Phoenix would have Christmas Eve dinner at the Malfoys, which would potentially include at least Scorpius's maternal grandparents, and then go home to spend the night and morning at Grimmauld Place since that was technically their home and this was their first Christmas together. They would be going to lunch, which would likely into dinner, at Albus's grandparents' house with all the rest of the Weasley brood, as well as another of just his immediate family and then Scorpius's parents at later dates. They were also planning to make an appearance at James's place on New Years', though they wouldn't stay long since Phoenix couldn't be out too late and they liked the idea of ringing in the New Year together at their place too.

Also thinking of their busy schedule and all the relatives and such who would be all but breaking down their door to see Phoenix Scorpius sighed.

"What?"

"I was just thinking that we won't have much chance to catch up on our sleep with all the people who'll be visiting or we'll be visiting." He missed sleep a lot, sleeping in even more so.

Setting aside his half eaten cheese and cracker Albus shifted closer to Scorpius and leaned over to place a kiss on the pale throat he so loved nibbling on whenever the opportunity presented itself. "We'll make sure we have time for naps at the very least. Really good naps."

Cheeks reddening as he got exactly what Albus meant by 'really good naps' Scorpius elbowed the other man in the side. "None of that or we won't finish eating, much less our homework."

His turn to sigh, Albus turned his attention back to his food, muttering over the fact that Adler had not only wreaked havoc on his social and academic life, but his sex life as well. Would the woman's tyranny never end?

Feeling much the same way Scorpius sighed again too, the teenagers sharing knowing looks before applying themselves to eating enough to fill their stomachs before packing what was left up and then heading to their homework with the looks of men facing down female dragons.

In short order they were absorbed in what they were doing, both not at all surprised to have their hands start to cramp up on them in no time. The night before everyone had been joking around about how their hands might end up permanently damaged from all the writing they were having to do lately, the jokes not seeming all that funny in the light of day.

They'd been ignoring the pain and concentrating hard for about an hour before Albus set aside his quill, shook his hand, and announced that going to Hogsmeade just wasn't worth this crap. Not even the entertainment value of spying on Fred and Gabrielle's first date was worth this!

Scorpius understood the sentiment of course, but it wasn't an option for him since he'd promised Gabrielle he'd be in Hogsmeade for her date. It was her first after all and she wanted him there for moral support and backup if things went horribly wrong. "If you want to stop then go ahead. She'll put you in detention but I can take Phoenix to Hogsmeade with me. Having him around can only help those two."

Having momentarily forgot that Scorpius wasn't going to Hogsmeade for amusement purposes alone Albus scowled for a moment, silently acknowledging that there went his brief taste of freedom before saying outloud that if Scorpius and Phoenix were going than so was he.

Eyes softening at the statement and the reason for it Scorpius smiled at Albus who reluctantly smiled back at him, the Slytherin quiet for a couple minutes after that before he said Albus's name.

"Yeah?"

"If we get all our work done and go to Hogsmeade…well after that we could probably give Phoenix to Davey for a couple hours for more music lessons. We could come back here for a really good nap…if you want."

Catching on quickly Albus's face lit up with renewed purpose, the Gryffindor promising to ask Davey that night if he was interested in doing precisely that.

)

Albus and Scorpius did indeed get a lot of work done while Tomo was there to watch Phoenix, enough that they declined her offer to remain at the school past the time agreed upon by the Headmaster. They didn't want to get her trouble after all, and it would defeat the purpose of trying so hard on their work if they ended up in detention for breaking the rules by letting her stay. Phoenix was loathed to have her go, but they all reminded him that Christmas holidays were coming up and then he could spend lots of time with her at their house. That seemed to cheer both Tomo and Phoenix up, all of them looking forward to the coming vacation time.

When they arrived at the Room of Requirement that night Albus did indeed ask Davey if he would be interested in continuing Phoenix's music lessons, which his son so obviously loved, after the trip to Hogsmeade for a few hours. He and Scorpius needed a break, especially since Phoenix was getting more energetic and into everything everyday it seemed. But only if Davey wasn't busy of course, they wouldn't want to impose or anything.

Absolutely thrilled at the idea Davey grinned widely and assured Albus that it wouldn't be a problem at all. Phoenix was going to be a musical prodigy after all, so it was his privilege to be one of the boy's mentors. And constant reinforcement was essential to installing a proper musical education in Phoenix's head, so this was a great idea.

Seeing the potential of a new babysitter for Phoenix that would clear up more time that he and Scorpius could spend together without any interruptions, Albus was just as happy about this turn of events and said so.

Scorpius wasn't quite as impressed, but was willing to allow it for the time being since Phoenix really did seem to enjoy the music lessons. The boy had run to Davey when they'd arrived and was obviously in a hurry to go to the music room from the way Phoenix kept tugging on Davey's hand and pointing in that direction. That Davey promised never to expose his son to something called rap meant nothing to him, but Scorpius made a mental note to ask Albus about it since it was apparently quite horrible judging from Davey's tone of voice.

Of course the heavy workload he still faced had Albus's smile dimming quite a bit over the next couple hours, but the extra work he and Scorpius had put in that day was enough that they weren't struggling as desperately as some of their friends were. In the end the two ended up staying in the room longer than they'd originally intended, unable to deny the others their help.

And then the door that led into the little room Davey had constructed swung open and slammed against the wall, Davey running out seconds later with Phoenix, the Muggleborn holding the toddler away from him as he came speeding towards Albus while babbling nonsensically.

Not liking this one little bit Gabrielle neatly nipped the boy right out of the Gryffindor's hands while Lily whacked her brother's friend upside the head for not holding her nephew properly.

"Oww! Why can't you hit like a girl for once?" Rubbing the back of his head Davey scowled for a moment before recovering enough to remember why he'd come out in the first place, holding out his hands for his charge again. "You guys have got to see what Phoenix can do!"

Giving him a dark look Gabrielle simply turned on her heels and walked over to Scorpius while expertly ignoring the Gryffindor at her heels.

Once Scorpius had Phoenix Davey tried to get the boy back, backing off when the Slytherin gave him a look that suggested dire consequences if he didn't shut up and leave Phoenix the hell alone ASAP.

"But you have to hear him!" Davey pleaded, his eagerness overriding the self preservation instincts that were trying to tell him that Scorpius wasn't someone you wanted to mess with when his parenting instincts were in control. "You want to show them, don't you, Phoenix? Tell them you want to show them how good you can sing."

Normally Phoenix would have been happy to do precisely that, but everyone was looking at him and Music Maker was acting really weird and he didn't know what was going on, so instead of agreeing the toddler hid his face against his da's neck and hoped sanity would soon reign supreme again.

Taking pity on his best friend, as well as curious as to what had Davey so excited since he'd already told him that Phoenix could sing a couple songs, Albus went over and retrieved Phoenix from Scorpius, who obviously wasn't pleased to have their son taken from him but willing to allow it for the moment.

"Hey, Buddy." Albus said softly, cuddling Phoenix close. "Did you learn a new song? Can Da and I hear your song? Play music?"

Slowly lifting his head Phoenix looked around at everyone shyly and then back at his mummy, a considering look on his little face before he slowly nodded. "Me pay music?"

"Here, set him on the table and I'll cue him. Please." Davey tacked on, belatedly clueing into the fact that both Gabrielle and Scorpius were watching him the way a snake no doubt watched a cornered mouse. Yikes.

While everyone watched Albus brought Phoenix over to the table Davey had indicated, setting Phoenix on top of the space that had hastily been cleared there. And sensing that Phoenix was still a little unsure of the situation Albus placed his hand on the boy's lower back, reassuring his son that he was there for him if he needed him.

"So you've been teaching him Christmas carols?" Magda asked, coming over in case she needed to save her idiot boyfriend from the Slytherins.

"What? No. I mean…maybe after Hogsmeade?" Davey offered with a hopefully look in his eye that was swiftly dashed by the look in Scorpius's. "Okay then…no, this isn't Christmas stuff. This is actually, technically, more of a Halloween thing. But it's the most adorable thing ever. If I put this on Youtube I'd have a million bloody hits by New Year, no question. The telly people would be banging on my door, wanting to meet him."

"Davey."

"Right, right." Giving Albus a quick smile Davey forced himself to put aside his dreams of stardom and instead turned his attention back to Phoenix. A quick wink in the boy's direction and then he began to hum the tune, the few in the room who recognized it already starting to grin when the chorus came up and Phoenix began to sing along.

"Cause dis is Twiller, Twiller night. And no one's gonna save you from the bee about to bite. Cause dis is Twiller, Twiller night. You're fight-in for your wife inside a Twiller, Twiller night!"

In the stunned silence Davey admitted that they were having some problems with the words, but still, wasn't that something?

Yes, everyone agreed as they clapped. It was.


	61. Required Bonding

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks very much for reading, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think. Have a great day!

Required Bonding

Phoenix had made people clap before, he'd done the most ordinary things before and his parents and other people had acted like he'd done something really important, but this time he felt genuine pleasure and a sense of accomplishment as they applauded his singing and asked for more. So he sang his 'Twiller' song again, and then his absolutely favorite song, 'Mr Hug-A-Bug-Bear', because that was his and Mummy's song and he knew it by heart. And the clapping and the whistling and the goodwill beaming at him filled Phoenix with happiness, his whole face lighting up as his little body wiggled with glee.

It was only after he was done with his little show, the majority of the people going back to their work while those closest to him paid him extra attention, that Phoenix became aware of the serious problem in the room. He'd been so eager to get to the music place that he hadn't really paid attention to the other people before, but now he was and their colors were making his tummy hurt! They were all faded and tired, the cores still bright, so they weren't all going someplace far away like Kreacher, but their colors were not how they were supposed to be!

Worried now Phoenix studied his family's colors, noting that Music Maker's was fine, and his parents were better than the others, but Funny One, Poofy, Cookie -Smelling, Fwinty-the others had messed up coloring too that were not right. They were supposed to be brighter! Happier! What was going on here?!

"What's wrong, Little Man?" That was Mummy's voice, and he could see from the colors that his mummy was worried for him.

Wanting to explain, and just wanting answers to what was going on, Phoenix tried to think of a way to make himself understood, frustrated that he lacked the words to talk about the colors and what they meant. All he could think to do was motion around his mummy's form, then those closest to them both, saying 'Wrong!" over and over again.

He could see they didn't understand, which frustrated them all, so Phoenix threw his hands in the air in exasperation and then toddled over to his da, knowing that the calmness of his aura would help him think better. Once snuggled in, with da's soothing voice in his ears and one of da's hands rubbing his back the way he liked best, Phoenix's faced settled into contemplative lines.

It didn't take him long to come to the obvious conclusion, which was that he needed to give them the happy stuff inside him so that they were happy too. Scrunching up his face in concentration Phoenix evaluated his stores, finding them to be pretty good though he certainly wasn't as full as he'd been the last time he'd had to let the stuff out. He had enough to spare, he decided, especially since his mummy and da's colors were so in tune with each other and him lately. That meant it wouldn't be hard for him to gather more of the happy feelings inside him.

And besides, this was important. Most of these people belonged to him, their connection to him such that someday he'd get the good stuff from them too. He would help them now.

Keeping enough to keep him going Phoenix smiled and let it loose, unaware that his hair glowed like a golden halo as the boy watched his colors leave him and spread out like flowing water, though only he could see it.

But he could see when it hit, watching their bodies jerk and their colors flare up like lit candles.

Perfect.

)

Later, when everyone tried to discuss and describe what it had felt like to experience Phoenix's gift, they all found themselves at a lack for words. The Hufflepuffs had all been asleep when Phoenix's gift had hit them, so their version of what it had been like revolved around the vivid and happy dreams they'd had. But being awake-there weren't words. They hadn't seen or heard anything, and to say they felt the gift when it had crashed into them didn't really fit either. It would be more accurate, they finally decided, to say that what they'd felt was feelings they associated with love. The emotions inspired were of the purest sort, like the warm hug of a mother or grandmother, the joy in seeing a loved one after a long separation, the scents of home…and an inner calm and peace that couldn't be put into words either.

They also felt refreshed, like they were having the most relaxing vacation of their life and had never heard of homework. You'd have thought they'd been getting ten hours of sleep every night for the past month and were in tip top shape.

And they all knew who they had to thank for it, the boy's hair all but standing on end and the smuggest grin any of them had ever seen on a little boy's face graced the toddler's. Someone was VERY pleased with himself.

Naturally they were pretty pleased with him too, thanking Phoenix with lots of kisses, hugs, and head rubs, plus he was passed around like a Muggle football before ending up in Scorpius's arms, since that's where he'd wanted to be before.

Filled with renewed energy and purpose everyone got back to work with the sense that there was no way they could fail now while Albus and Scorpius, seeing that Phoenix was pretty tired and ready for bed, decided that they'd head out for the night since they were pretty sure they were no longer needed.

Davey, riding high and forgetting about the looks Scorpius and Gabrielle had been giving him earlier, asked what time they wanted to meet up tomorrow after Hogsmeade so that he could continue giving Phoenix music lessons. They had to see now how important it was to continue exposing Phoenix to music after all.

Feeling very good didn't stop Scorpius from hesitating to go along with the idea though, the Slytherin not a hundred percent sure he could trust Davey to take proper care of his son.

Obviously getting that vibe Magda opted to save her boyfriend yet again by stating that she'd stick to the two like glue and would supervise. She came from a large family and both Scorpius and Albus knew her to be a dependable and far more mature babysitter than her boyfriend.

So Scorpius caved, knowing how much Phoenix enjoyed being around Albus's idiot friend. Plus he couldn't help but melt under the puppy eyes Albus was giving him, no doubt thinking of the plans they'd had for their 'good nap'.

Agreeing to the time Albus suggested, Davey was all smiles and eagerness as he assured them both that he would take the best care of their musical genius and would not expose him to anything harmful. The kid was really getting into Michael Jackson at the moment, best to keep that momentum going.

"And if he wants to alter his face afterwards, at least it can be done magically."

Face alight with rarely seen fury at the slur against one of his idols, horrible plastic surgery aside, Davey immediately jumped on the offensive as he defended the Prince of Pop, having done so many times before. That it was his girlfriend who'd said it didn't matter, he wouldn't tolerate such slander from anyone.

Leaving him to it Albus and Scorpius headed out with Phoenix, the boy clingy the way he had been the last time he'd let loose his happy energy. The two took turns passing the boy between them as they walked, Phoenix was practically a deadweight in his tiredness, but they managed to get back to their rooms without incident until they tried to put Phoenix down in his own bed, the boy clutching at Albus and muttering low, but audible "Nos."

Offering to put him in his box house instead got the same response, though this time he followed his negative response by asking a question. "Me stay you, peas?"

"Maybe he needs to be with us, needs to be close?"

Considering this Albus agreed that that made sense, taking Phoenix with them as they headed towards their room. They took turns getting changed into their pajamas and then they placed Phoenix in the middle of Albus's bed, the two climbing in on either side to sandwich their son between them.

Leaning over Phoenix Albus gave Scorpius a long, slow kiss good night, whispering that he couldn't wait until tomorrow.

Whispering back his agreement Scorpius smiled, both men settling in to sleep beside their boy with smiles on their faces.

They fell easily into slumber, their dreams happy and vibrant with colors and sounds and with a clarity that promised that these dreams would not fade quickly the way most dreams did. And though none of the three knew it then or later on their dreams were shared, all of them together and happy as they played in their brilliant dreamscape.

)

Mother Nature proved to be on the students' side when the day of the Hogsmeade visit rolled in, or at least she felt such pity for them that she figured the least she could do was give them a picture perfect winter day with no wind and the sun giving enough warmth that those leaving the castle didn't have to bundle up like explorers at the North Pole. The snow on the ground wasn't deep, there was hardly any ice to contend with, and the vast majority of the students lining up to leave school grounds that morning looked like death warmed over.

Still riding high off the energy boost Phoenix had given them Albus, Scorpius and their fellow study buddies were some of the few exceptions to that, looking hale and hearty and getting plenty of dirty looks from those who were only going to the tiny village because they refused to miss out on the visit after nearly killing themselves to ensure that they could go.

In three straight lines they approached their headmaster, Filch and the teacher sent from hell to torture them, waiting for their turn to have their name checked off the lists Professor Adler had compiled of students whose work merited them being allowed to go to Hogsmeade.

Had all five years' worth of students been there this would have taken forever, but most had given up on trying to meet Alder's standards or just didn't have the energy to go even if they had. Only the stubborn, brilliant, or very lucky students were lined up and the lines moved quickly because those in front of them wanted to get to the village and back as quickly as possible to sleep.

Fred Weasley stood a short distance away from the castle, waiting for Gabrielle, and that fact entertained those in line and gave them something to talk about as they willed the caffeine in their system to do its job and their bodies to last the day.

For her part Gabrielle ignored the looks and comments, waiting patiently in line before marching up to Professor Adler when it was time for her to pass through, her gaze resolute and determined as she nodded regally when she was given the nod to proceed.

Striding off and over to Fred Gabrielle came to a stop in front of him, fighting the urge to squirm as he smiled at her. She'd let Lily and Rose help her pick out her outfit and style her hair, the makeup her own doing and not something she had a lot of skill with. She'd gotten the okay though, so hopefully she didn't look too bad.

Feeling she should say something Gabrielle said the first thing that came to mind. "I thought about snogging you in front of her, just to rub it in her face, but I thought that would be wrong, you know, seeing as you said you were serious and all. I mean-because-we haven't-aren't-bugger."

Gabrielle's face when red as she realized that she'd just said

Grinning widely Fred reached out to take her hand, lifting it up and placing a chaste kiss on the brief line of skin showing between her gloved hand and the edge of her winter coat. "I'm just glad you came. You look beautiful."

Color still flushing her cheeks but going down a little, Gabrielle couldn't stop herself from pointing out that part of that was the fact that they were currently surrounded by people who looked half dead. Of course she looked better in comparison.

Shaking his head over the fact that the woman just could not take a compliment, they'd have to work on that, Fred just switched his hold so that they were holding hands, asking if she was ready to head into the village.

Nodding shyly, Gabrielle lightly squeezed his hand back.

To put her at ease Fred complimented her on the fact that she didn't look nearly as exhausted as most everyone else, which to his way of thinking meant that she must be nearly as smart as Rose and Hugo. He'd heard how bad the teacher was, and having met her he was more than willing to believe that they hadn't been exaggerating.

Shaking her head, and glad for a subject she felt steady talking about, Gabrielle smiled and explained that her appearance, as well as the others who hadn't looked like death warmed over, had Phoenix to thank for that. She told him about the study group, and Phoenix's music lessons, and how the boy had decided, after an impromptu performance, to give off whatever it was he gave off, and had given them all a boost that had gotten them through the night and to their present in decent shape. The boy had been incredibly clingy towards Albus and Scorpius ever since, so she was pretty sure Phoenix had given more than he should have, but had seemed pretty good at breakfast.

"Well that's good. Last time you lot came to Hogsmeade the wee one was all anyone seemed to be talking about. It's been novel, actually, not to be known automatically as the Chosen One's nephew. Now I'm the guy who's related to Phoenix."

Laughing, Gabrielle admitted that she was getting a lot more attention than she was used to these days, with people asking her about Phoenix and his latest escapades and milestones. People were even asking Flint about the boy, since everyone knew how much Phoenix liked the Slytherin captain.

"He seems like a good enough chap, even when he's threatening me with physical harm or driving Dionne barmy." He'd played with her back when he'd been on the Gryffindor team, the girl her father's daughter. His father had even more horror stories about his Wood than he had his so to speak.

"From what I've seen it really isn't all that hard to drive Wood crazy, and he was just being a gentleman before, when he thought you were bothering me. He's old fashioned that way."

"You like him, then?"

Picking up where this was going Gabrielle couldn't help but be a bit flattered that Fred was apparently trying to assert whether or not he had a rival in Flint. Personally she thought a lot of Flint, especially since she'd gotten a chance to really know him through Phoenix and the friendship developing between Scorpius and their fellow Slytherin, but still…

"I do like him. But he doesn't appeal to me. Romantically. Actually, if I'm reading Phoenix right, Flint just might end up related to you through marriage."

Brows furrowing, Fred asked if she was talking about Rose, Lily, or Hugo.

"Hugo?"

"Well I sure as hell didn't see Albus's relationship with Scorpius coming, now did I? And Hugo's a million times more curious than he is, so anything's possible there. I don't know Flint well enough to know what way he swings either."

Lips twitching Gabrielle explained that she had meant Lily.

"Damn. I was hoping it would be Rose."

"Really? Why?"

Fred's grin was a little sheepish. "Well in our family we have Quidditch tournaments, you see, and often times we divide by our last names. Weasleys on one side and the Potters on the other. When that happens we Weasleys usually get our arses whooped because all the Potters play and Uncle Harry could have gone pro like Aunt Ginny and James if he'd wanted to. When Victoire married Teddy we claimed him for our side, which means if Flint marries Lily then he'd play for the Potters…and they'd go from whooping our arses to annihilating them."

Biting her lip so as not to laugh Gabrielle agreed, with amusement in her voice, that that would be unfortunate.

"Do you play?"

"Play?"

"Quidditch. Do you play?"

Confusion coming over her face Gabrielle was about to ask why on earth he would ask her such a thing when she put two and two together, her eyes going wide as color reddened her cheeks once again. He wanted to know because-because if they-he was only messing with her surely, stupid Weasley humor and all that, but still-

His turn to be amused and try and hide it, Fred's eyes danced with amusement as he asked if she was really bad at it, and that's why she was blushing.

"No. No I-I've never played."

"Well then I'll teach you. Can't have my girl not knowing one end of the broom from another, now can I?"

Glaring at him now Gabrielle's eyes said clearly that she was annoyed. "I know one bloody end of the broom from another. I took the Flying classes, just like you did. I'd have a scar on my ankle to prove it if the nurse hadn't magically removed it."

"Took a bad tumble, did you?"

"An idiot Gryffindor crashed into me and sent us both flying without the brooms."

"Ah. Anyone I know?"

"Not so far as I know." Was her slightly amused response. "But I'll point him out if I see him."


	62. Outing Bonding

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters get in.

Outing Bonding

Thanks to Phoenix Albus and Scorpius didn't have to worry about hanging back so that it wasn't obvious that they were sort of supervising Fred and Gabrielle's first date together. An owl had delivered a present for their son on Friday, which they'd been hiding from him until today because they'd predicted that Phoenix would go nuts over it and hadn't wanted him wearing it indoors. But now they were going to be outdoors for a while and Phoenix was rapturously running around on the path in his teddy bear snowsuit, little brown tail wagging, and the ears on the top of the hood were waving back and forth in the wind. Scorpius's grandmother was keeping up her bear theme and Phoenix was loving her for it.

And thank Merlin, both teenagers thought, that so few people were going to Hogsmeade or they'd have been mobbed by squealing girls while they'd been waiting in line to leave. As it was their son had had several different shades of lipstick on his cheeks by the time he'd made the rounds and been cuddled and cooed over by everyone who had the energy to do so while they waited to have their names checked off.

Now their boy was dancing to a song in his head, Phoenix stopping every once in a while to pick up snow and throw it in the air because he apparently liked the way it shone in the light before falling back to the ground. This wasn't the first time they'd taken him out to play in the show, but every time seemed like the first time to Phoenix, who took pleasure in every change in weather and the animals that always seemed to sense him nearby and wanted to come play.

"Your grandmother might end up being his favorite relative if she never drops by and keeps sending him adorable clothes." Amused, Albus swung the hand he held, thinking it ironic that Narcissa Black Malfoy, of all people, was one of Phoenix's favorite people.

Amused, Scorpius nodded his head in agreement, having already written his grandmother a thank you letter. He'd taken a picture before they'd left too, and would include that with the letter when he mailed it. "She'll be his favorite until he outgrows wanting cute things, anyway. Soon he'll want a leather jacket and other 'Big Boy' clothes."

Linking their hands more firmly Albus gave it another friendly swing as he stated that hopefully they'd be able to put that off for a very long time. Whenever parents talked about parenting teenagers they got this look in their eyes that said it was an experience one wanted to avoid as long as possible.

"Well of course your parents would have that look in their eyes, they have three of you and you're half Potter, half Weasley. In this case he's half from my side of the family, and incapable of being evil. I think we'll have a much easier time than your poor parents."

"So he's one third Potter, one third Weasley, and one third whatever your mum's maiden name is?"

Laughing when Scorpius gave him a less than amused look, Albus leaned over to steal a kiss to turn that frown upside down.

Given the terrain they were on the snogging couldn't last long, Phoenix needed to be watched constantly these days even when he was just normal, much less acting like he was in a sugar high as he explored his new surroundings the way he hadn't been able to the last time they'd taken him to Hogsmeade. So reluctantly they ended that fun and turned their attention to alternating between watching Phoenix strut his stuff and glancing further down the road to make sure that Gabrielle hadn't turned Fred into a weasel again.

"It seems to be going okay, doesn't it?"

Albus nodded. "Yeah. Better than we thought, anyway. She hasn't hit him once."

"Well so long as he follows my advice he should be okay. Hopefully." He and Fred had been in constant letter contact since Gabrielle had said yes, with Fred peppering him with questions and requests for advice concerning how to get Elle to give him a chance and what her preferences were when it came to food, flowers and such. Thankfully, while he had limited dating experience himself, he had known Gabrielle since they were kids and could answer most of the questions fairly confidently.

"Me swing too? Peas?"

Looking down at their son, who'd snuck up on them and was holding out his arms pleadingly, both men grinned and nodded their heads, separating and then offering him one of their hands, which he took with a gleeful squeal.

Nodding at each other Albus and Scorpius worked out a rhyme, swinging Phoenix back and forth between them as they continued down the road, their son kicking his feet in the air and giggling like mad the whole way.

They were on the outskirts of the little village when Lily caught up to them, the three hearing her coming and turning to face her since she might try a snowball to their back otherwise. They kept swinging Phoenix too, since he'd already scolded them once for trying to stop before he was ready for them to. Naturally Phoenix was delighted to see his aunt, showing his appreciation by demanding that she swing him too.

Letting his son's hand go Albus motioned for her to take it, which she did with much delight. "After all, who doesn't love swinging a small child into the air and making them screech with joy loud enough to burst your eardrums."

"He's not, thankfully." Scorpius smiled.

Lily's grin was downright evil. "Then you're not doing it right."

)

Ears good and ringing by the time they made it to their destination, Lily pouted when she saw that they were standing in front of the Three Broomsticks instead of Madam Puddifoot's. Not that she liked the former, because that much girlie-ness in one place frankly freaked the hell out of her on a number of levels, but she'd thought Fred would have the common sense to pick the much more romantic tea shop. Plus everyone would be in the Three Broomsticks and would be sure to stare and even come over, which would not end well for the always turbulent couple. And above and beyond that she was just plain angry at her cousin for not having the sense to realize that Elle was a girlie-girl with a tomboy's attitude.

"He was going to take her to the tea shop, I talked him out of it."

"Why'd you do that?"

"Because as much as Elle does like girlie stuff, she tends to get a little clumsy when she's nervous and that place is full of breakable things and is over the top romantic wise. This is their first date, so I told him to take her to the Broomstick because she knows it, is comfortable there, and won't feel as pressured."

Grudgingly, Lily admitted that he had a point.

"NO!"

A number of heads, including Scorpius and Lily's, turned to look in Phoenix's direction, the boy's face red with agitation as he slapped at his mummy's hands. He did NOT want his snowsuit removed or even unzipped and was getting quite mad at his mummy for not listening to his words.

Albus wasn't having a lot of fun either as he tried to explain to his pigheaded son that he needed to deal with the suit so that he didn't overheat in it. It was really warm in the pub and getting more so by the minute as more people made their way in to warm up with a hot beverage or bite to eat.

When reasoning failed Albus looked over at Scorpius, the plea for help in his eyes.

"Let him keep it on until he figures out for himself why you were trying to take it off. He'll learn better that way."

"But he'll be sweating like a pig in no time."

"And this is one of the reason you're mummy and I'm da."

"Oh ha ha." Taking his seat Albus rolled his eyes at Scorpius. "And shows what you know. Mums are the bosses, not the pushovers."

"So you're stating you were being a pushover with Phoenix by refusing to give in but also refusing to force him to let you take off his snowsuit?"

While her brother gaped like a landed fish Lily clapped her hands in delight. "You two are really adorable sometimes, I must say. And that being the case I'm going to go sit with some friends of mine closer to Fred and Elle so you don't distract me. Good luck with the parenting!"

They watched her go and then turned their attention back to the couple they'd come here to watch over.

From what they could tell things looked to be going well, or at least they weren't fighting which was always a good thing when it came to the two of them. Gabrielle did still look a little nervous but Fred seemed to be fine and the man did know how to be charming when he wanted to be. And in this case, given how gone he appeared when it came to Gabrielle, Scorpius and Albus were willing to bet Fred was going to use every bit of charm he had in his body.

"Now I'm wondering how bad we looked on our first date."

Scorpius had to smile a little. "Well we were talking about divorce before the main course was even over."

"But we agreed our marriage still had a chance before we left the restaurant." Albus countered, reaching out to play with Scorpius's fingers, tangling them together.

"Mummy!"

Both turned to see Phoenix squirming in his chair, his face even redder than before as he pulled at his snowsuit.

Seeing the smirk on Scorpius's face Albus pointed a finger in his boyfriend's direction. "Don't say it."

"I didn't say anything."

"Not with words, no." Getting out of his seat again Albus walked over to unzip the snowsuit, getting Phoenix out of it as quickly as possible before handing the garment over to his son so that Phoenix could hold onto it.

Though at the moment Phoenix wasn't looking too fondly at his bear suit, which amused his parents greatly.

)

Naturally the three of them could only hang around watching the date for so long before they really began to feel like stalkers, especially since there hadn't been any obvious hiccups just yet. It was starting to look like Fred and Gabrielle's very bumpy beginnings had seen to it that they had a good gauge of each other now and knew where not to tread. Not to mention the fact that Fred had already been on the receiving end of both a punch and curse, and therefore had to know, as he wasn't an idiot, that this was not a woman to be toyed with. And Fred was serious about her, they were in agreement about that.

So that being the case the two stuck around for a little while and then bundled Phoenix back into his snow suit and headed back outside, their destination a little ways away from the village since they didn't want to get mobbed by people who might feel that enough time had passed since the last time they'd come over to coo over Phoenix. Instead they steered their son towards the snow and let him play in it to his heart's content, taking seats on a low brick wall after dusting off the worst of the snow.

"You know, if Fred and Gabrielle make this work and she joins the family, the other guys are all going to be jealous of me. I'm going to be the only one with a not scary spouse."

"Not scary…my father and grandfather are former Death Eaters. I'm scary because of my relatives alone."

"But you're not scary, you're adorable."

"I'm not adorable."

"You are, you might as well accept it."

"Just because you say something a hundred times doesn't make it true. Though being a Potter and a Gryffindor I can see how that concept would be difficult for you to grasp."

"Ouch, that one hurt." And laughing to show how much it hurt Albus slid a hand behind Scorpius's neck to draw his boyfriend in for a quick snogging that had them both grinning like fools when they finally pulled back to see what Phoenix was doing.

Thankfully Phoenix was busy demonstrating that he remembered how to make snow angels like his mummy had taught him and appeared uninterested in getting into trouble for the moment. How long that would last was anyone's guess.

It was about twenty minutes later when Albus caught sight of Hagrid coming their way, raising his hand in silent greeting while Scorpius settled for a nod of acknowledgement. He was still getting to know the friendly half giant in a social setting, but so far he liked him quite a lot.

"HAGGY! PAY WITH ME!"

Watching Phoenix pull himself out of his latest snowbank and hurry, as fast as his short legs and the snow drifts would allow, towards Hagrid, the two teenagers just smiled, though Scorpius winced a little when Hagrid threw Phoenix up into the air four times before cuddling the boy against his chest. The man could throw a toddler pretty high after all.

"Out and about, enjoyin the weather, eh?" All smiles Hagrid gave the top of Phoenix's hooded head a kiss. "He looks like a little teddy bear."

Phoenix made rawr noises to confirm that fact.

"He loves bears." Scorpius agreed, coming over with Albus to meet the groundskeeper partway. "Good afternoon, Hagrid. I hope you're having a good day."

"Afternoon to you both, and yes, I'm having a fine day, thanks for asking. Good day for a visit to Hogsmeade, weather's holding well. Not that there's the usual crowd today." There was a twinkle in Hagrid's eyes. "It's right impressive that you two managed to keep up with your schoolwork and the wee one as well. He's always on the move these days from what I've seen."

"Haggy. What dis?"

Everyone looked at what Phoenix had wrapped around his mittened hand, which shone in the light. He'd taken it out of Hagrid's beard, having gone rooting around in the thick mass because there was always interesting things to be found in there.

"Tis a unicorn hair, Phoenix. You can have it if you like."

"Pwitty."

"Very pretty." Scorpius agreed, admiring the unicorn hair.

Phoenix took a moment to admire it again before holding it out to Scorpius. "For Da."

Expression going soft and very un-Malfoy like Scorpius gently unwrap the unicorn hair from around Phoenix's mitt and gave his son a kiss on the cheek, thanking him for such a pretty present. Holding it up to the light so that the winter sun would reflect off it Scorpius made a show of admiring it before he carefully put it away in his trouser pocket.

"Speakin of presents, you two didna have any shoppin to do in the village? All ready for Christmas then?"

"Still plenty of time yet to shop."

Scorpius turned his head and goggled at Albus. "You haven't finished your shopping yet? But you've started, haven't you? Albus!" He could see the answer on the Gryffindor's face. "How do you expect to get it all done in time?"

"What? There's still plenty of time yet. And of course you're almost done, you have a lot less people to shop for then I do! And before you throw that in my face let me state for the record that I always wait a while to get my presents and I haven't forgotten a person yet." Though some of the gifts had been a little…unorthodox. It was the thought that counted.

"We're going shopping the first day back." Scorpius's tone was final. "Our Christmas is going to be hectic enough as it is with all the family engagements without you apparating around half of London trying to buy all your presents at the last minute."

Grinning and not perturbed in the slightest, Albus winked in Hagrid's direction. "He's adorable when he's all riled up, isn't he?"

"If you say so." Was the best Hagrid could manage. Though secretly…yeah, he had to agree.

)

After spending a good twenty minutes or so with Hagrid, discussing the coming holiday and how the school term had gone thus far, the four had to split up as Hagrid had business still to attend to in Hogsmeade and Albus and Scorpius were due to drop Phoenix off for his play date with Magda and Davey. So after warm wishes and promises to talk later they all headed out, Phoenix pouting over Hagrid leaving until he caught sight of Davey, which had him squealing with renewed glee.

Handing him over Albus and Scorpius didn't mind in the slightest how eager Phoenix was to go with the other two, they had plans of their own after all and the fact that their son wasn't putting up a fuss about leaving them suited them just fine. They'd take Phoenix back at dinner time unless something came up.

Everything arranged, Albus and Scorpius waved good bye to their son and then beat a hasty retreat back to their set of rooms, slamming the door behind them in their haste to get to the bedroom. And once there their clothes were shed in haste, having spent enough time in the nude around each other since their first night together to not care. When you were the parents of a toddler you learned to be fast and spontaneous.

Rolling around on the bed as soon as they were on it, the tone was playful and fun since they were actually fairly certain they had real hours alone without school, son, or anything else likely to get in the way. They intended to enjoy it.

After winning the pinning match, never a hard thing given his superior size and the fact that he knew Scorpius was terribly ticklish and how to exploit that fact, Albus grinned down at the Slytherin's flushed face and then started kissing his way down his boyfriend's neck and then chest, moving further and further down before circling the quivering belly beneath him with his tongue.

And then he moved a little lower, and the fun really started.


	63. Bonding and Planning

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters find themselves in. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.

Dedicated to AnastasiaChambers, who pushed the review count over into two thousand! Thanks a bunch! Also, for those who have been asking how long this fanfic is going to go on for, at the moment I'm thinking until New Years happens in the story, and maybe an epilogue to tie off needed ends.

Bonding and Planning

Later that night, as they stretched out together on Scorpius's bed since they'd completely and totally debauched Albus's bed earlier that day, the two were pleasantly tired from the long day they'd had and were quite content to do nothing more strenuous than cuddle and sleep. It had been a very good day though, especially since Fred and Gabrielle's date had gone well, and the fact that they didn't have much in the way of homework for the first time in what felt like forever was such a relief they were all but purring.

Albus was just about to doze off, Scorpius still paging through a book he was apparently reading for pleasure, when the Gryffindor remembered something that had occurred to him during supper, when he'd been discussing Christmas with his relatives.

"Am I supposed to get something for your parents, for Christmas? I mean technically I'm just a boyfriend, and your father doesn't like me anyway, but I'm not above bribing them to think of me more fondly in the future."

There was a smile in Scorpius's voice, though the Slytherin's face was currently hidden from view. "No worries there, I already put yours and Phoenix's names down with mine in the cards attached to the presents I've already picked out for them."

"Oh. You didn't have to-I'll chip in on them then. And you don't need to spend-you already bought something for my parents, didn't you?"

Scorpius made a sound that confirmed that. "And a small token for your grandparents as well."

Shaking his head Albus asked if his and Phoenix's names were on those as well.

"His is, yours isn't. You're on your own there."

"Good to know. Anything else I should know about, while we're on the topic?"

Looking up from his book for a moment Scorpius stared thoughtfully ahead as he mulled that over. "It probably hasn't crossed your mind, but I'm guessing that when we get home we're going to be greeted by a great deal of mail from your relatives, family friends, and people who are interested in your family and Phoenix and want to be able to say they sent a card or present again."

Groaning as the truth of those words sank in, Albus slapped his arms dramatically over his eyes. "NO! Not more thank you letters to write! Anything but more thank you letters to write! My hands still cramp up at the mere thought of all those sodding letters we had to write before, and my hands still haven't forgiven me for this week!"

"Calm down, I have the letters covered too."

Shifting his arms a little so that he could see better, Albus suspiciously asked him what he meant by that, feeling too cynical after the week they'd had to believe they were saved just yet.

"I took four different Christmas themed pictures of Phoenix and set them along with four different messages and holiday greetings to a print shop. They'll generate cards with them and all we'll have to do is write out the addresses and sign the cards before we mail them off."

Rolling over and on top of Scorpius Albus peppered the man's face with kisses as he thanked him for being so bloody brilliant.

Laughing in delight Scorpius squirmed and shifted so that their lips could meet, the teasing kisses becoming a long, drawn out one that had them smiling widely at each other when the snogging finally ended.

"So what are we getting your father and mother, by the way?"

"My father is getting a first edition copy of a rare book he's been looking for forever, and my mother is getting some perfume and the same thing your mother, my paternal grandmother, and both sets of maternal grandparents are getting from me. A personalized photo album slash scrapbook that revolves around Phoenix. Photos, some of his drawings, his hand and foot print, and some images of either you or me thrown in depending on that book's recipient."

Albus whistled his appreciation, seriously impressed now. "Damn, you really are as brilliant as you are sexy. That's the sort of thing that will turn them into happy, mummy puddles in ten seconds flat. You'll be their favorite for years to come."

"I think Phoenix has that position, but I'll be happy with second. And I'll help you shop when we get back to London so that you can be third."

"I don't know how I got by without you."

Smiling widely with pleasure, Scorpius set aside his book and lifted both hands so that he could card his fingers through Albus's hair, this of course leading to more snogging and cuddling and finally, after a while, to sleep.

)

When it came time to head home for the holidays Albus and Scorpius could only pray that they'd remembered everything that they would need when it came to Phoenix. Their son was by now notorious for his possessiveness when it came to his things, and the last thing they wanted to do was him want one of his toys or a favorite outfit and not have it. Telling him that it was back at the school and they couldn't just pop in and pick it up for him wouldn't go over well. As it was, they'd already sent a missive to Tomo asking her to get them a bunch of cardboard boxes so that they could build their son a new box house for him to play with while they were at Grimmauld Place. They could only bring so much stuff in the end though, and hopefully the excitement of all they had planned would keep Phoenix happy and occupied while they were away from the Hogwarts.

And so they left the school for their first Christmas together, taking the carriages down to the station where the Hogwarts Express waited for its passengers to board for their trip back to London.

Hagrid was there to see them off of course, taking time from his duties to give Phoenix a quick cuddle, though he'd be seeing the boy soon enough at the annual Weasley Christmas get-together. Scorpius stayed with them while Albus went off to make sure that their trunks went where they were supposed to, promising to meet them inside the train at the section of compartments which were known to be reserved for the Gryffindor's family.

For his part Phoenix couldn't help but gape at the enormous toy that was just sitting there beside them while lots and lots of people crowded around it. There were kids big enough to play with this toy?, Phoenix marveled, his own version of this toy much, much smaller. He liked to roll it around on the floor and make little puffs of smoke come out of it. There was a lot of smoke coming out of this one for some reason. He wouldn't mind playing with this big toy, but he was too little and its size sort of intimidated him a little. Even his Haggy wasn't big enough and Haggy was really, really big. It must belong to Haggy's brother, Phoenix decided, he'd met him before when he was even littler than he was now. He and Mummy had been able to fit in his hand.

Was Haggy's brother coming here? Where would they put him? There was hardly enough room for everyone else!

"Well, you should be headin in, I reckon, get him all settled and such before the crowds get too bad. Don't want him getting jostled around or bruised." Hagrid kissed the side of Phoenix's head, which was currently covered by his bear snow suit again. "Off you go then, Wee One, I'll miss you something fierce while you're away."

Phoenix wasn't quite sure what was going on here and he was getting more and more worried as this day went on. There had been lots of stuff missing from his room this morning, which his parents had shown him were in a thing that was like his box house but not, so he knew sorta where they were, only that box wasn't with him now. Mummy had taken them somewhere, and people kept saying bye bye to him like they weren't going to see him tomorrow, and he saw them every day so what was going on here?

Now back in his da's arms Phoenix watched Haggy over his light parent's shoulder, waving since Haggy was waving at him and that's what you were supposed to do. This was all so confusing.

And then they were climbing INSIDE of the toy and Phoenix could only goggle that much more about this strange turn of events. He'd NEVER been inside a toy before. You weren't supposed to be able to go inside of toys, you were supposed to play with them. Of course bugs sometimes crawled on his toys, but mummy and da usually brushed them off so obviously you weren't supposed to do that. But now his da was doing exactly what they'd told the bugs not to do! And where was mummy?!

Everyone else was so loud inside the toy too, but there were happy colors everywhere which reassured Phoenix somewhat, though he didn't like being absolutely bewildered , and was too stunned by all the new sights and sounds to stop gaping and start scowling at this turn of events.

Finally they arrived where they were supposed to be, Phoenix being put down on a seat while da started to unwind his own scarf and undo his coat.

"Mummy?"

Reacting to the whimper, it wasn't like he'd failed to notice that Phoenix was overwhelmed by this sudden change in their usual routine, Scorpius tossed his coat to the side and picked the boy up, cuddling him against his chest as he reassured him that Albus would be with them very soon.

Phoenix felt a little better being held, so that he didn't even complain when his da took off his snow suit and set it aside. He just curled up tighter against his da's chest until the others started arriving, sitting up when Funny One, Elle, and Cookie Smelling dropped into seats across from them.

Pleased to see them Phoenix smiled at them, feeling better to know that whatever was going on they'd be coming too, and then in came his mummy and he shrieked with happiness because everything was definitely going to be okay now.

"Well someone missed me." Grinning from ear to ear Albus took a seat beside Scorpius and had his arms open and ready as Phoenix basically flopped into his lap for a cuddle there. "What's all this?"

"A little overstimulated, I think. He'll be fine once we're home. Provided he remembers it of course."

While the teenagers discussed various theories about just how much memory a baby had and retained Phoenix continued to stay close to his parents and act very unlike himself until the train was finally loaded with all the luggage and passengers and started to pull away, the fact that they were moving without actually moving shocking Phoenix enough to unbury his head and stare around him in obvious bewilderment.

Laughing at his son's reaction Albus placed his hands on either side of Phoenix's waist and then he shifted the boy so that he could look out the window and that was that. Phoenix LOVED looking out the window and seeing everything whiz by in a blur, especially when he realized that his breath could fog up the glass, and he could draw pictures and leave handprints on it.

By the time they'd arrived at the station Phoenix had had so much fun on the train that he'd fallen into a nap so deep that not even the train whistles heralding their arrival couldn't wake him up.

)

It took some doing to get out of King's Cross, Phoenix drifting in and out of consciousness since the amount of noise around him was too much to ignore, but eventually Albus and Scorpius managed to collect all their stuff and head out with the former's family to the car Harry had arranged so that they could get the Potter/Malfoy family to Grimmauld Place before the rest of the Potter family headed home themselves. Tomo had been hard at working making sure that the place was not only ready for Christmas but for the presence of a toddler, and Ginny assured them that she'd personally looked things over herself just the other day. It was as warm and welcoming as it had probably ever been in its history. Everyone agreed that wasn't exactly saying much, but the boys were looking forward to going to their home nonetheless, though it still surprised them to think of the place that way.

It was of some amusement to them all to see the wreath on the front door, which opened on their arrival to reveal that Tomo had been waiting for them to arrive, the house elf waving at them wildly from the doorway.

Since Ginny had been holding Phoenix since they'd left the train station she carried her currently sleeping grandson into the house with Lily, while Albus and Scorpius turned their attention to magically retrieving their trunks and Harry dealt with the third that carried Phoenix's clothes and toys. Once everything and everyone was inside Ginny somewhat grudgingly handed over her grandson since they couldn't stay, everyone saying their goodbyes with real reluctance after making sure that their holiday plans were known and that the boys intended to show up to all the Weasley/Potter get-togethers that had previously been discussed.

Seeing the three to the door the residents of Grimmauld Place and Tomo waved goodbye to the Potters, Scorpius moving Phoenix's hand for him since he was still fast asleep before they all headed back inside where it was warm.

"The place looks wonderful, Tomo, you did a great job. Thank you." Standing in the front hallway Scorpius smiled over the garlands and Christmasy smells that seemed to be permeating the main floor currently. He'd only gotten a glimpse of the front parlor when they'd come it, but he approved of the decorating there, as well as the yet to be dressed Christmas tree that awaited them. Tomo had mentioned in her letter that she'd thought they'd want to decorate it themselves, and Albus had given that plan a big thumbs up. Personally he'd never decorated one before, which Albus had announced was another indicator that he'd missed out on all the good stuff about being a child. The fact the Malfoy family Christmas tree was always slightly over two stories tall and would take days to decorate given the inherit perfectionist nature of his mother when it came to design meant little to the Gryffindor.

And, in all honesty, Scorpius was sorta looking forward to the decorating, even though he'd have to make sure his mother didn't see the end result.

Albus gave Tomo lots of compliments about the decorating as well, which had the elf blushing and stammering over all the attention and kindness. People were a lot nicer to house elves these days, thanks to Hermione Weasley and the government policies she'd put into place to insure that house elves weren't abused, but Tomo was sure that there were very few masters out there as good as hers, and said so.

Both teenagers blushing in return, the hallway was silent for a minute or two before Scorpius asked Tomo if she'd look after Phoenix for them while they went and put their stuff away. They wouldn't be long.

"Should Tomo take him to bed?" He was big enough now that she'd have to carry him magically, but she didn't mind.

"No, I don't think we should leave him alone, at least until he's used to being here again. I don't want him wandering around in a panic while we're down here." Scorpius glanced over at Albus with a questioning look in his eyes. "We might as well stay home for the rest of the day instead of going out the way I'd planned so that you could get a start on your Christmas shopping. Do you want to decorate the top part of the tree, and let Phoenix do the bottom when he wakes up?"

"Sounds like a plan to me. Though he's gotta do the star, since he's the youngest and that's the biggest deal."

"That's fine."

"Tomo will watch Phoenix like a hawk." The house elf assured them as they headed into the parlor, Scorpius setting Phoenix down on a couch with a pillow under his head. "Tomo also made cookies and hot chocolate, which Masters can have while decorating the tree."

Having already spotted the treats on the coffee table that were waiting for them, the two teenagers thanked her profusely before quickly heading out of the room, since the sooner they had their stuff put away the sooner they could have their snack.

As they headed up the stairs, one after another with their trunks levitated in front of them, Albus asked Scorpius if he'd gotten something for Tomo for Christmas. She'd really gone above and beyond for them after all, especially with the whole coming to Hogwarts to visit on her day off.

"At home we usually just give our elves a bonus for Christmas. My mother does, anyway." His father and paternal grandparents considered it a waste of money. "Do house elves prefer presents to money?" He'd never thought to ask one. Of course he'd never really had a real conversation with one before Tomo, so he figured Albus would know more about these things than he did.

"My brother buys his elf T-shirts with sarcastic sayings on them, and a lot of earrings. She's got a bunch of piercings. As for Kreacher…we basically gave him a Black heirloom every year. And actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I have no idea what Tomo would want since I can't see her wanting any of those things. But we could ask my Aunt Hermione about it, she knows a lot of house elves."

Nodding, Scorpius belatedly remembered that Albus couldn't see him and said outloud that that was a good idea, and that they could stop in at the Ministry tomorrow before they went holiday shopping.

"It's a date."


	64. Decorating The Bond

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations I put all my poor victims in.

Decorating The Bond

Once they'd put their stuff away and changed into regular clothes Albus and Scorpius hurried back downstairs to sample Tomo's delicious cookies and hot chocolate, insisting that she have some with them and help them decorate the tree since they considered her part of the family. Unfortunately this offer prompted her to cry, though they were happy tears, and by the time they'd calmed her down the noise she'd made had woken Phoenix from his nap, the little boy sitting up on the couch to peer owlishly around him as he tried to figure out where the heck he was.

"Hey, You, just in time to decorate the tree with us." Walking over Albus scooped Phoenix up and brought him over to Tomo, who gratefully opened her arms to give her favorite person a cuddle, which the boy gladly returned as he crowed her name gleefully.

"Why don't we put on the lights first, Albus, Tomo and Phoenix can start looking through the decorations to pick out their favorites." Taking command of the situation Scorpius figured that Tomo could probably use a minute to compose herself without them hovering, and Phoenix was a pro by now when it came to making people feel better.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Winking at Tomo Albus gave her a smile and then headed over to the box of decorations waiting for them, really glad when Scorpius pulled out the lights to reveal that they weren't in a tangled up mess. Probably because they'd never been used, he told Scorpius as he regaled the Slytherins with tales of fighting to detangle the strands every year because no matter how carefully you stored them they ended up a mess by the next year without fail.

Taking that as a personal challenge Scorpius stated that he'd be in charge of packing everything up after Christmas as he took his position on the other side of the tree so that they could pass the strands back and forth between them.

Tomo, meanwhile, took Phoenix's hand and brought him over to the box of decorations so that he could take a look, Phoenix's attention zeroing in on a colored bulb, which made him appear another color on its reflective surface. Then he started making faces at himself and that was enough to make him giggle and wiggle with glee, which soon had Tomo beaming and in a much less emotional state of mind.

As soon as the lights were up it was time for the other decorations, Tomo patiently helping Phoenix hang up various decorations, most of which he wasn't exactly happy to let go of since he preferred to play with them instead. But eventually he caught on to the idea and turned cooperative, though the boy refused to relinquish a red bulb that he insisted remain with him.

It had a teddy bear painted on it, enough said.

"You were right, this is rather fun."

"It is, though you realize I'm putting up about three ornaments to your one." Picking out a crocheted snowflake Albus waved it teasingly in Scorpius's direction.

"That's because you're not giving any thought to where you're putting yours." He was already planning to make some adjustments later for that very reason. While he had no intention of trying to turn their Christmas tree into one of his mother's creations, he did want the tree to be somewhat balanced too. Which Albus didn't seem to care about one little bit.

"Da!"

Looking down Scorpius smiled at Phoenix, who was holding out a green bulb to him. "That definitely has to go on this side of the tree, doesn't it?" Picking Phoenix up Scorpius turned him around so that the boy was facing the tree, Phoenix carefully attaching it to a bough the way Tomo had taught him to. "Good boy. Would you like to pick another?"

A happy nod was his reply.

The rest of the decorating went well, and though it went without saying that it could have looked better the boys and Tomo thought it looked pretty darn good for their first family tree. Leaving Phoenix to lie under the tree to appreciate it from that view, Tomo sat beside him while Scorpius and Albus took seats on the couch, the Gryffindor slugging an arm over Scorpius's shoulder, the blond responding by moving in a little bit closer.

Taking it all in with a great deal of contentment Albus's eyes happened to land on a box that had been set on the floor near the tree. He didn't recognize it as being one of theirs, and asked Tomo about it.

"Those are the cards Master Scorpius ordered to send in thanks for the gifts we've received for Master Phoenix."

"Ah, yeah. We saw the presents when we were putting out stuff away." Shaking his head at the memory Albus gave the side of Scorpius's head a smacking kiss of thanks that the man had had the sense to order the cards in the first place. Speaking of which…he had yet to see them.

Getting back on his feet Albus walked over to crouch in front of the box, opening up the flaps to retrieve the first bundle of cards, a smiling breaking over his face as he watched the image that made up the front of the card, which started with a large, wrapped present, the lid coming flying off as Phoenix popped into view wearing antlers, sitting in the present box and grinning widely as he waved.

Laughing in delight Albus picked up the other bundles, all of which started the same way though in some Phoenix was wearing a Santa hat, his bear snowsuit, or holding a piece of mistletoe over his head and smacking his lips.

Shaking his head Albus handed one of the mistletoe ones to Scorpius when he came over to crouch by his side. "These are great."

"They did turn out nicely, didn't they." Scorpius smiled back before calling Phoenix over to see his pictures, though he was completely ignored in favor of the Christmas tree.

"Next year we should do a family picture though." Albus thought but didn't say that it would be a good way to reinforce the fact that they really were a family in the eyes of the Wizarding World. At school most everyone had come to understand that Scorpius was part of the Potter/Weasley family and treated his boyfriend accordingly, but with the older generations…that was going to take some doing. And they did say that a picture was worth a thousand words.

"I'm fairly sure that the majority of the Wizarding World wouldn't want a picture of a Malfoy in their home. There's a reason Phoenix is the only one on these cards."

"Nope, sorry, mind's made up. You're definitely going to be on the next card with Phoenix with me. And the next one after that, and the next one after that." Punctuating each 'next one' with a kiss Albus grinned when Scorpius didn't argue the point with him. A change in subject couldn't hurt either, Albus thought, motioning towards their son who was still ignoring them in favor of enjoying the Christmas tree. "I think he approves of our decorating, even if your mum won't."

"I guess the tree is his new B-O-X H-O-U-S-E."

Nodding his head, and well aware that it wouldn't be a good idea to mention boxes until they'd made Phoenix a new box house for him to play in while he was here, Albus helped Scorpius put the cards away before getting to his feet, holding out his hand to help Scorpius up.

And then, hand in hand, they decided to retake their seats and enjoy being home. And some more snogging too of course.

)

Waking up the next morning Phoenix wasn't at all sure what to make of his surroundings. This wasn't his little house, that he loved so much, nor was he looking up at the ceiling of his room in the big place with all the people in it. And yet there was something familiar about this place too, especially the thing that was hanging over his bed, with other things dangling down from it. Reaching up Phoenix amused himself by batting at the shiny things for a minute or so, quickly becoming bored with that since the things were sorta pointy and therefore not much fun to swat.

Pushing off his blankets and holding his birdie against his chest, Phoenix turned his attention to locating his parents, who he knew were nearby and currently doing that sleeping thing from what he could tell. They sure liked to do that a lot. Almost as much as they liked pressing their lips together and making weird noises.

Giggling at the thought, his parents were so funny sometimes, Phoenix carefully climbed out of the little bed he'd been given and taking advantage of his footsie pajamas soundlessly crept over to the bed they were sleeping in, choosing dark parent's side since he generally stopped sleeping faster than light parent.

Taking a moment to consider the situation Phoenix came up with a course of action, setting his stuffed animal down on the floor before grabbing hold of the blankets edges, since the bed was up too high for him to just crawl in with them. Blankets firmly in his grasp Phoenix smiled and then started to jerk on them repeatedly in the hopes of waking someone up.

Sure enough, after a few good tugs his mummy turned over and blinked at him sleepily, Phoenix grinning at him angelically since he knew he wasn't supposed to wake his parents up before the weird noises came from the thing that belonged to his da that went off every morning.

"Well good morning to you too."

As soon as his mummy held out his arms for him Phoenix went happily into them, kicking his feet with glee as he was lifted up and then onto his mummy's stomach. Sitting up Phoenix shared a grin with his dark parent before looking over at his da, who was still fast asleep unfortunately.

"Oh no, no waking your poor da up early, especially as we're on a holiday." His mummy's tone was sorta scolding, but Phoenix knew he didn't mean it.

"All right then, I know that look in your eye. You stay here and be quiet, and I'll be back in a jiff. We'll go downstairs and find something to do till Scorpius wakes up. You'll be a good boy for me, won't you?"

"Ogay." He wasn't exactly sure what he was being asked, but that was usually the right answer, and judging from the pleased look he was being given it had been the right one.

"That's my good boy."

Delighted to be lifted up and into the air Phoenix was a little less happy when he was deposited back on the bed without his mummy, who was apparently leaving him with da while he went somewhere else. But the blankies were nice and warm when he snuggled under them, and his mummy gave him his birdie before he went which was also nice. Moving in close Phoenix happily traced his da's features with his fingers, giggling in delight when his da scrunched up his face and wiggled his nose when he touched it.

And then the blankies were being lifted and he was back in his mummy's arms and being told something in his dark parent's soft, scowling voice.

Then they were out of the room they'd been in and Phoenix settled comfortably in his mummy's arms as they went down the hallway and down the stairs to the room they'd been in before, the one with the pretty tree in it which had all sorts of sparkly things on it. Delighted to see it again Phoenix pointed towards it, wanting to show his birdie how pretty it was.

"All right, all right, down you go then."

Set back on his feet Phoenix hurried over to the tree, showing his birdie the things he had put on it before. Belatedly he recalled the red one that he'd insisted be hung on his bed for him, and frowned because he didn't have it, but still, he had birdie and that was good enough for him, Phoenix decided, especially when the music started playing. Hurrying away from the tree and over to the object he recognized as one that made music play for him Phoenix jumped up and down with glee. He loved these things!

"Okay, you and birdie dance and I'm going to put together something hopefully edible enough to call breakfast."

Waving him off as he and birdie danced, Phoenix hardly noticed at all when his mummy left.

)

After breakfast, which was indeed edible thanks to the fact that Albus had opted to make them toast with peanut butter and cut up fruit, the two teenagers put away their dishes and then convinced Phoenix that he had to stop dancing and let them put him into his snowsuit so that they could go out and start their errands. He wasn't thrilled about it, but they were letting him take birdie with him which seemed to ease the sting a little, so to speak. Then it was off to Diagon Alley, with their first stop being the Ministry to visit Albus's Aunt Hermione at work.

Normally Albus wouldn't have dropped by without telling her they were coming, his aunt was always busy and was often all over the ministry hounding people into falling into line with her ideas, but in this case he hadn't seen the point since he'd been pretty sure they'd be mobbed by people and therefore not likely to be on time anyway. The Ministry was not only full of older members who would want to fuss and pinch Phoenix's cheeks, but also the arse kissers who wanted to be associated with him family or just have the right to brag that they'd met The Chosen One's first grandson in person to those who actually cared about such things. His cheeks hurt just remembering how often they'd been pinched when he was a boy visiting there for some reason.

Looking down at the boy walking between them, his arms wrapped around birdie, Albus gave him a silent apology for putting him through this.

And they did indeed descend upon them like locust, Scorpius picking Phoenix up as a matter of preservation for them both as the boy clutched his stuffed animal like it was a life preserver as they came to fuss and pet and coo at him all at once.

But just as the sword of Gryffindor presents itself to worthy Gryffindors, so too would Albus's cousin Molly gravitate towards large crowds and the potential for juicy gossip like a Niffler sensing gold.

Making her way through the crowds with expert skill to find her family members all but under attack, the redhead immediately took over as she demanded to know what they were doing here, and once told immediately went into full bossy mode and had them away from the crowds before anyone really could comprehend how she'd done it. She took after her namesake that way.

"Good thing you were here." Scorpius said with a shy smile in Molly direction as the elevator doors closed behind them. How she'd moved so fast in her heels he didn't know, but it was a skill he was certainly appreciating at the moment.

"Happy to do it." Waving aside their thanks, though she had done a bang up job of rescuing them if she did say so herself, Molly held out her arms for Phoenix who was still so shell shocked by what had happened that he just stared up at her dumbly while she stroked his very mushed hair. "Imagine, penning you in like that and scaring poor little Phoenix. Such shameful behavior, and they work here, for Merlin's sake."

Albus had to bite down hard on his bottom lip to keep from pointing out that Molly had been part of that group before she'd realized who was being penned in. But that was Molly for you, just like her dad.

"So why are you here to see Aunt Hermione? She's very busy you know."

"I know. We just have a quick question for her and then we have shopping to do."

Rolling her eyes, Molly spent the rest of the elevator trip lecturing Albus over his complete and total lack of organization skills and how he really did need to grow up and realize how important it was to get things done as early as possible instead of waiting until the last minute so that he ended up scrambling around like a chicken with its head cut off. Scorpius's attempts to change the subject only led to him also being lectured for not realizing that Albus needed supervision, so that by the time they stepped out of the elevator both their ears were ringing and Phoenix had yet to recover from all the weird people he'd suddenly had to deal with so early in the morning.

"Is being around her always like being caught up in a tornado?" Scorpius asked once the elevator had left, taking Molly with it since she was far too busy with actual work to stay a moment longer.

Settling Phoenix more comfortable on his hip Albus nodded ruefully. "Always a force of nature, that's Molly. You should have seen her when we were younger."

"I'm glad I missed it. So where are we going, anyway? This place is so big I always get turned around when I'm here."

Grinning, Albus slipped his free arm through Scorpius's. "Well stick with me and that definitely won't happen. I've spent so much time here I could probably draw you a map if I was insane enough to want to waste that much time."

"Just don't let Phoenix go." Scorpius gave Albus a look that made it clear how important that was. "If he were to run off in here who knows what trouble he'd get into. Or how long it would take us to find him depending on how much of a head start he had."

Imagining it too Albus couldn't help but pale a little, not to mention tighten his grip on both his blonds as he led the way to his aunt's office just in case

Bad things often happened to mischief seeking Potters in the Ministry of Magic after all.


End file.
